Trial begins for North Strabane man accused of fatally shooting wife in 2014
More than a decade after Scott Edmonds was arrested and accused of fatally shooting his wife inside their North Strabane townhouse in March 2014, his homicide trial began Wednesday morning following numerous delays over the years.
During opening arguments at the Washington County Courthouse, the defense claimed that Edmonds’ 49-year-old wife, Louise M. Weis-Edmonds, died by suicide, while prosecutors contend that it would be nearly impossible for her to have shot herself in the back of the head with a handgun.
First Assistant District Attorney Leslie Ridge said there were only two people inside the townhouse at 117 Victoria Drive when Weis-Edmonds died on March 25, 2014, indicating that Edmonds pulled the trigger. She also noted a cryptic voicemail with a man’s voice sent to another person’s phone after his wife’s death.
“I killed Louise. I’m sorry,” Ridge said during her opening statements, recounting a voice message Edmonds allegedly left on another person’s phone.
Defense attorney Mark Adams called the incident a “tragic shooting” and said Weis-Edmonds was dealing with several personal and family issues at the time while self-medicating with alcohol. He said they intended to show the jury, which was seated Tuesday, that Weis-Edmonds died by suicide, with markings on her right finger and blood evidence that showed it was a self-inflicted wound.
Ridge questioned how the .380-caliber handgun used in the shooting was found in the pocket of a pool table in another room with bloody footprints tramped around the house. She added that the victim had a blood-alcohol level of .411% at the time – more than five times the legal limit to drive a vehicle – and an expert would testify that it would be impossible for her to pull the trigger at that level of intoxication.
Ridge also said Edmonds indicated during a police interview after the shooting that he was responsible.
“It’s all my fault,” Ridge recounted Edmonds telling police. “I’m done. My life is over.”
After opening statements, testimony began with the 911 call Edmonds made after Weis-Edmonds had been shot, telling a dispatcher that he heard a gunshot in the house, although most of the discussion was inaudible and the phone call ended prematurely.
North Strabane police Officer Brian Hart testified he and his supervisor were the first to arrive at the house and found the front door opened. They looked inside and saw two sets of legs lying down in the kitchen, prompting them to enter and identify themselves as police officers.
“He was laying on his wife and appeared to be sobbing,” Hart said.
Hart then asked where the weapon was, prompting Edmonds to respond, “What gun?”
Hart and his supervisor, Joseph Curnarski, who was a sergeant at the time and is now retired, pulled Edmonds off his wife’s body and took him outside of the residence while they looked to see if anyone else was inside the townhouse. They found no one else, but officers eventually found the .380-caliber handgun used in the shooting in the pocket of a pool table in another room.
Curnarski testified the scene indicated that Weis-Edmonds, who was shot in the back of the head, had died some time before Edmonds called 911 for help.
“There was a large amount of blood around the lady’s head,” Curnarski said. “The blood was already starting to dry.”
Other testimony showed the jurors photographs from inside the house, giving them an idea of what the scene looked like after the shooting.
Edmonds, who was wearing a gray suit, watched intently during testimony Wednesday. He is charged with felony homicide and one misdemeanor count of evidence tampering, and has been held at the Washington County jail without bond since his arrest following his wife’s death.
The trial has taken so long to begin because of disagreements Edmonds, who is now 60, had with his legal defense. He has fired multiple attorneys over the years while arguing that he should be able to represent himself before Adams took the case in 2022.
Ridge acknowledged the unusual circumstances for the homicide case to take so long to go to trial, but told the jury that the lengthy timeline should have no bearing on their decision-making process.
“That was 10 years ago. … This isn’t a TV show. Things in the criminal justice system move in the way that they do,” Ridge said.
Testimony before Judge John DiSalle will resume this morning, and the trial is expected to last into next week.