Weimer convicted for man’s death
When the woman who spent five days in tears in a Fayette County courtroom found out she had been convicted of third-degree murder, she reacted with a shrug of her shoulders. Turning around to her sister, Crystal Weimer mouthed something incomprehensible from her place at the defense table and appeared to resign herself to the finding of guilt for her role in Curtis Haith’s death.
Haith, 21, of Sycamore Street in Connellsville was found beaten to death outside his apartment around 5 a.m. on Jan. 27, 2001. Jurors found that Weimer, 28, of Connellsville instigated that beating.
Michelle Haith, 28, said she felt that Weimer “got what she deserved” for her older brother’s death.
Haith called allegations that her brother hit Weimer before the beating “lies” and said it was hurtful to hear the man who looked out for her and her three other sisters talked about in that manner.
The Detroit, Mich., resident said her brother was a kind person who never let a birthday pass without a card or a phone call to say, “I love you.”
“He was very gentle, very kind and very giving,” Michelle Haith said.
Weimer was at Biererwood Acres in Uniontown on Jan. 26, 2001, at a party where Haith was. Testimony indicated that she and another man drove Haith to Connellsville, where he and another group of friends gathered for the rest of the night.
At some point in the early morning, Weimer, two still unidentified men and Joseph Cyril Stenger, 23, of Connellsville, went to Haith’s home, where the unidentified men beat him to death.
Some testimony indicated that Weimer claimed Haith gave her a black eye, and that was the reason she organized the beating. She testified that her former boyfriend, Michael Gibson, punched her in the face after she bit him and she had no problem with Haith.
In reaching a verdict, jury foreman Chris Yeager said that the panel ultimately set aside expert testimony about bite marks found on Haith’s hand. Police noticed the marks in an autopsy photo, but they were not noted as bite marks during the autopsy.
A commonwealth expert testified the bite marks were consistent with Weimer’s teeth and inflicted anywhere between seven and 30 minutes before Haith’s death. A defense expert countered that it was impossible to determine if the marks matched or when Haith was bitten.
Yeager said jurors got to the point where figuring out which expert to believe was less of an issue because the panel believed Stenger’s testimony.
With a lengthy criminal record and a plea deal in place, Stenger’s credibility was initially an issue, Yeager said, but ultimately, jurors questioned why Stenger would have come forward if he did not know something.
“If she was innocent, there was no reason for him to fear her,” Yeager said of the jury’s thoughts.
Stenger, who pleaded guilty to criminal conspiracy in exchange for nine to 18 years in prison, testified that he came to police about Weimer’s involvement because he believed she was going to turn on him first.
Stenger testified that Weimer lured Haith from his home and the men beat him with a baseball bat and a crowbar. In an effort to stop the assault, Stenger testified he used a stolen handgun he planned to trade for crack to shoot Haith.
Until police told him otherwise, Stenger testified he believed his shot killed Haith. The beating, which resulted in brain swelling, is what killed him, according to expert testimony.
Weimer’s frequent outbursts during the trial did nothing to sway jurors, Yeager said.
During breaks, he said jurors could hear Weimer crying in the courtroom, and she often cried loudly throughout the trial. While the jury understood that standing trial for murder would be emotional, Yeager said that jurors found Weimer’s tears disingenuous.
“If it had any effect, it disgusted us,” he said.
He said jurors noticed that Weimer’s tears “were like flicking on and off a switch.”
Throughout the trial, Yeager said that Weimer looked at jurors, mouthing to them that she was innocent.
State police Cpl. Beverly Ashton, who worked with Connellsville police Sgt. Ronald Haggerty Jr. to solve the cold case, said the investigation is far from over.
“It won’t be done until everybody involved (is brought to justice),” she said.
District Attorney Nancy D. Vernon, who prosecuted the case with Michelle Kelley, said she was pleased with the verdict and with the obvious effort jurors put into making their decision.
She also expressed pride in Haggerty and Ashton for their hard work on a case that fell cold in the years after Haith’s death. Like Ashton, Vernon said authorities will continue to look for the two men directly responsible for Haith’s death. A sweatshirt and bandana with unknown DNA have been submitted to a national DNA database, she said.
Before the trial, Vernon said she offered Weimer a two- to four-year plea to criminal conspiracy to commit homicide if she would turn on the two men. Vernon said Weimer maintained her innocence and rejected the plea.
Weimer’s attorney, Assistant Public Defender Mary Campbell Spegar, and Weimer’s sister left the courtroom without comment.
The jury deliberated for about 6 1/2 hours before returning with a verdict.
The third-degree murder conviction could result in a maximum sentence of 20 to 40 years in prison. Jurors also convicted Weimer of criminal conspiracy to commit homicide, but she will not be sentenced separately for that conviction.
Judge John F. Wagner Jr., who presided over the case, will sentence Weimer on April 19.