close

Judge denies motion to throw out North Union homicide case

By Jennifer Harr heraldstandard.Com 3 min read

A Fayette County judge denied a motion to dismiss the criminal homicide case brought against a North Union Township woman accused of fatally stabbing her boyfriend in December.

Debra Ann Becker, 41, allegedly stabbed Ronald A. Mudery Jr., 47, in the abdomen following a fight at their home on Turkeyfoot Road on Dec. 10.

Her attorney, Brian Salisbury, had asked President Judge Gerald R. Solomon to dismiss the case for lack of evidence, or to suppress Becker’s statements to state police. Solomon denied both motions from the bench at the conclusion of the hearing Thursday.

Trooper Timothy Jamieson testified under questioning from Assistant District Attorney Michelle L. Kelley that he was summoned the home because there was a hang-up call to 911, and found Becker outside the home. He testified he went inside after Becker told him Mudery was inside, and found the blade of a knife — broken off from the handle — covered in blood on the floor.

Mudery, Jamieson testified, was in the bathroom, having difficulty breathing. The trooper testified he summoned medical help and additional police to the scene.

Mudery and Becker, who had a cut to her foot and cuts to her stomach, were taken for treatment. Mudery later died.

At Uniontown Hospital, Trooper Richard Sizer testified, Becker told him she and Mudery were arguing and he kept telling their dog to watch her. The dog bit at her, and she told Sizer she grabbed the knife to get the dog off of her, he testified.

“Ron got in the middle, and I must have accidentally stabbed him,” Sizer testified Becker told him.

Sizer testified he took Becker to the state police station in Uniontown. There, she was read her rights and interviewed by Cpl. Scott Krofcheck and Trooper John Marshall, according to testimony.

Marshall testified that Becker waived her right to remain silent, and told police that she and Mudery started arguing in the morning. After he told her she was overweight and people thought she was pregnant, Becker said that she went into the bedroom to use a razor to cut herself, and Mudery threatened to call 911 and have her committed, Marshall testified.

Becker told police that Mudery choked her, and then “turned the dog on me,” Marshall read from her statement.

She said she tried to pull loose from the dog and grabbed a knife and started swinging it.

“Ron came running over and got in the middle to protect the dog and I accidentally stabbed Ron,” Marshall testified Becker said.

In denying the motion to throw out the charge, Solomon found that prosecutors met their burden to take the case to trial.

The evidence presented “would allow a jury to infer a specific intent to kill as well as malice,” Solomon said.

He also found that Becker’s statements “were given of her own free will. They were voluntary,” the jurist said.

CUSTOMER LOGIN

If you have an account and are registered for online access, sign in with your email address and password below.

NEW CUSTOMERS/UNREGISTERED ACCOUNTS

Never been a subscriber and want to subscribe, click the Subscribe button below.

Starting at $4.79/week.

Subscribe Today