Sep 2, 2009 3 min read

A forensic pathologist testified in Fayette County Court on Tuesday that the gunshot that ultimately killed a Hopwood man was fired into the back of his head. Dr. Cyril H. Wecht said the bullet entered Barry Pavlicko’s head in the upper right, back portion of his skull, and exited from the right front portion.

That is in contradiction to the statements that Pavlicko’s girlfriend, Johnna Palya, gave to state police Trooper Timothy Knapp. Knapp testified that Palya consistently said that she shot Pavlicko in the front of the head with a .357-caliber revolver on Aug. 26, 2007.

Pavlicko, 43, died on Oct. 27, 2007. Palya, 44, is on trial before Judge Gerald R. Solomon for criminal homicide in his death.

Knapp testified that Palya told him that she and Pavlicko argued over her talking to another man at a bar on Aug. 26, and said that he asked her where the revolver was. When she retrieved it at their home on Nell Street in Hopwood, Palya initially told Knapp that he grabbed the barrel and pointed it at his head and told her to shoot him.

Knapp testified that Palya said that she raised the gun up to fire a shot over his head, and he yanked the gun back down, and she shot him in the head.

Later, when she gave another statement at the barracks, Palya told police that the gun accidentally went off.

Knapp, who testified during the afternoon’s proceedings, indicated that the one thing Palya consistently said is that she shot him in the front of the head.

Wecht, who performed an autopsy after Pavlicko’s death, said that the pattern of the gunshot wound showed that he was shot from behind.

Jurors also heard from Carolyn Bryner, who was in prison with Palya in the county lockup in November 2007.

Bryner, who was serving time for theft by deception, testified that Palya told her that she and Pavlicko got into an argument, and that he put the gun to his head and told her to shoot him.

“She told me she could not shoot him while he was looking at her,” Bryner testified.

And when Pavlicko said he knew she wouldn’t be able to, Bryner testified that Palya told her she got mad.

“When he turned away, she said she was angry, and she shot him,” Bryner said.

Bryner indicated she received no consideration for her testimony, and told jurors she came forward with the information because she felt it was the right thing to do.

During the course of the day, jurors heard from several forensic witnesses, including John Evans, a scientist at the state police laboratory in Harrisburg.

Evans testified that tests showed both Palya and Pavlicko had gunshot residue on their hands.

He testified that the residue could be from firing a gun, or being in close proximity to the fired gun. Evans said there was no way to tell what caused the residue.

Testimony in the trial is expected to resume this morning before Solomon.