SOMERSET — A neighbor of Jeanine Downing testified Tuesday that she heard her screaming “help,” and the murder defendant yelling “I’ll shoot you” just minutes before Downing was shot and killed.
Margie Rhoads, 22, a cashier at a fast-food restaurant, was living with her parents on the night of Dec. 28-29, 2007, when Downing, 33, died from a single rifle shot.
Downing and her fiance, Bruce Emerick, then 19, had been fighting that evening and struggled over Emerick’s gun at their apartment.
The question is who pulled the trigger.
Emerick faces a charge of criminal homicide and other counts. He has been held at Somerset County Jail without bond since 2007.
Rhoads lived upstairs from the couple in the Section 8 units and heard the squabble through her floor.
“I heard a big fight in Apartment 158,” she told Assistant District Attorney James Jacobs. “I heard Jeanine screaming and yelling, ‘Leave your ... hands off me. ’
“I heard him say, ‘I’ll shoot you.’ She said, ‘Just shoot me.’ ”
The couple and friends in the complex had been going apartment to apartment drinking and celebrating Downing’s birthday.
Rhoads said she could hear Emerick slamming his fiancee against the wall in an argument over a woman.
That kind of embellishment drew a sharp rebuke from defense attorney Jerome Kaharick, who accused her of making things up.
For instance, he wanted to know how Downing knew who was throwing whom against the wall if all she knew was what she heard.
Downing got flustered on the stand, drinking water, crying and – at one point – dropping her head and putting her hands over her ears.
President Judge John Cascio ordered a 10-minute recess so Downing could regain her composure and she walked shakily off the witness stand.
Other witnesses called Tuesday on the second day of prosecution evidence included:
n Megan Taylor, 18, of Altoona, Downing’s sister.
She said she heard Emerick – who had bloodshot eyes and was stumbling from drinking – get angry during a running series of arguments with Downing. Taylor said she heard Emerick threaten to cut himself with a knife at one point, and also say, “I have a gun. Let’s go shoot somebody.”
Under cross-examination, Taylor said she saw Downing strike herself twice in the mouth that evening with the purpose of calling the police on Emerick for domestic abuse.
• Detective Richard Appel of Somerset police.
Appel briefly testified for the prosecution about his investigation before being cross-examined by Kaharick.
The detective said the .30-.30 rifle was sent to the state police in Greensburg for examination, but that “No identifiable latent prints were recovered. No latent evidence whatsoever.”
Noting Emerick was charged within hours of the death, Kaharick demanded, “I want to know what investigation you did at all.”
Appel said it was not only he but a team of officers who investigated and that, “We reviewed the totality of circumstances,” including an oral confession by Emerick.
The detective said that – while suicide was a possibility – he discounted that because Downing did not express a desire to take her own life.
• State Trooper Robert M. Hagins of the Greensburg barracks.
The firearms examiner testified that Emerick’s rifle was relatively easy to fire, with just 2 pounds of pressure needed on the trigger instead of the usual 3 to 6 pounds for that style of firearm.
Nonetheless, Hagins said, he could not get the gun to discharge unintentionally through a series of shock and drop tests.
The only way to get that gun to fire is by depressing the trigger, he said.
The trial will resume today at 9:30 a.m. in Courtroom No. 1 of the county courthouse.
Local News
Neighbor testifies in fatal shooting
- Local News
-
-
Richland manufacturer showcases expansion
Business and government leaders gathered Monday at a Richland Township manufacturing company to celebrate the expansion of its export business, made possible through some cooperative government programs.
-
New jury to hear Blair case
The 12 jury members and two alternates chosen nearly a month ago to decide the fate of Nicholas Adam Horner were excused on Monday by Blair County President Judge Jolene Kopriva.
-
Blogging with heart
Launching into the second week of American Heart Month, I'm looking at stories on the leading-edge treatment options and how local heart specialists are helping patients live longer.
-
Marijuana bust: Police seeking runaway seize dozens of pot plants
City police looking for a runaway juvenile stumbled onto a marijuana “grow operation,” seized more than 40 pot plants and arrested two apartment house neighbors.
-
Former speaker convicted
A jury on Monday convicted a senior Democrat in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives on all but one of six charges in the latest corruption trial stemming from a five-year investigation into the use of taxpayers’ resources for political purposes.
-
‘Dramatic’ Pa. budget cuts expected
Top state senators say they expect Gov. Tom Corbett to propose a budget plan today that relies on cuts in spending for education and social services to balance sluggish tax collections and the rising costs of pensions and debt.
-
ACRP seeks partners for neighborhood gardens
A few years ago, the Alternative Community Resource Program and its partners planted a garden alongside Napoleon Street in a move to fill both hungry stomachs and a need for neighborhood rejuvenation.
-
‘Hope for the future’: Workshops offer confidence boost to cancer patients
Chances are when you look good you feel better about yourself.
-
Police Roundup: Martindale man accused of trying to enter cars at Portage dealership
A Portage-area man has been charged with criminal attempt at theft after state police said he was discovered trying to enter three vehicles in the parking lot of Stager’s Chevrolet.
-
In brief: Fire destroys windmill turbine
Fire destroyed a windmill turbine at the Allegheny Ridge Wind Farm on top of the mountain in Blair County between Blue Knob and Lilly on Monday morning.
- More Local News Headlines
-
US, UK Pressure on Syria; More Homs Violence
Raw Video: Mass Killer Wants Medal, Freedom
Few Answers in Death of Sons of Missing Utah Mom
Court Strips Contador of Tour De France Title
Runaway Goat Leads Police on Wild Chase
And the Winner for Best Super Bowl Ad Is...
Raw Video: Deadly Helicopter Crash in Australia
Raw Video: Smoke, Purported Gunfire in Syria
Romney Latest Poll to Join Let-me-explain Club
Blast Kills Husband of Missing Utah Mom, 2 Boys
Obama: US, Israel Will Work Against Iran Nukes
NJ Museum Finds 19th Century Recording
Snow Causes Disruptions in Much of Europe
Clinton: Vetoed U.N. Syria Resolution 'travesty'
Romney Picks Up Decisive Win in Nevada Caucuses
Gingrich Renews Vow to Campaign Until Convention
Romney Rolls to Easy Win in Nevada GOP Caucuses
Raw Video: Missing Family Found Alive in Ore.
Police Clear Tents From Occupy Site in DC
Killer of Fla. Girl Found in Landfill Gets Life
