Upper Tyrone Township man to stand trial for deadly shooting
PERRYOPOLIS – A weekend of arguing over an alleged extramarital affair ended with the firing of a single gunshot, according to testimony Wednesday in the case of an Upper Tyrone Township man charged with killing his wife. Glenn Wilmer Geary, 55, of 190 Geary Road will stand trial after District Justice Michael Rubish, at the conclusion of a preliminary hearing, ordered that charges against Geary be held for court.
Geary is charged with criminal homicide in the shooting death of his wife, Sally Ann Geary, who was killed as she sat in her car outside the couple’s home in the early morning hours of May 6.
“He said that he and Sally had been arguing over the weekend,” state police trooper Samuel J. Ferguson, the investigating officer, testified during examination by Fayette County District Attorney Nancy Vernon. “He said the arguing resumed after he returned home later from work (on May 5).”
Ferguson said that Glenn Geary told officers that he left the couple’s home shortly after the arguing resumed and went to a nearby field, where he sat in his truck, drank a few beers and listened to the radio.
Geary said that when he returned home, his wife and their Ford Escape were not at the residence, and around 2:30 a.m., Geary reported to state police at Belle Vernon that the vehicle had been stolen, Ferguson testified.
“Mr. Geary told the officers that he was afraid (Sally Geary) may get into an accident because she had been taking some medication,” Ferguson told attorney Samuel Davis, Geary’s legal counsel.
Sometime after the troopers responding to the theft report had left, Glenn Geary went outside with a loaded rifle and a lantern after hearing his dogs barking. It was then that Sally Geary returned to the residence.
“He said that he ran to the porch and that she was cussing at him,” Ferguson testified.
Glenn Geary then turned and fired the 12-gauge Mosberg.
“He said that he thought he had fired over the vehicle,” Ferguson told Vernon.
Ferguson said that Glenn Geary related to police that he did not leave the porch but stepped to the edge to view his wife, some 10 feet away.
According to Ferguson, Glenn Geary then went into the residence and composed a note to his daughter.
“I, Glenn Wilbur Geary, being of half-mind leave my possessions to my daughter,” Ferguson read from a copy of the penned letter.
Afterward, Glenn Geary then called his daughter, who contacted police.
At the scene, Ferguson said, police found Sally Geary slumped in the car with wounds to her head, face, neck and chest.
In his statement, Geary related that his wife was taking medication and had talked about committing suicide on several occasions, according to Ferguson.
Her daughters, Sonrisa Dulik and Salvia Leapline, denied both statements after the hearing.
“She never talked about killing herself, and she rarely took an aspirin,” said Leapline.
Dulik said her mother had concerns that Glenn Geary was having an extramarital affair, and they often had heated arguments in which Sally Geary suffered broken bones and head injuries.
“It was (the affair) and his drinking that caused most of their problems,” said Dulik.
Leapline, who said her mother often called her after the couple fought, said she had encouraged her mother on numerous occasions to move in with other family members. “She was afraid,” said Leapline. “She was afraid to leave and afraid to stay.”
Glenn Geary remains lodged in Fayette County Prison.