Published: May 15, 2009 11:50 pm      

Husband ordered to trial in killing

SOMERSET — District Judge Art Cook on Friday ordered a Jerome man held for Somerset County Court on a charge of criminal homicide in the shooting death last month of his wife.

Cook presided over a daylong preliminary hearing for William A. McTonic, 73, whose wife, Ruth Anne Henderson-McTonic, also 73, was found on the back porch of her School Avenue residence in a pool of blood at about 9:30 a.m. April 3 by her daughter, Michelle Zimmerman of Hollsopple.

She said she could find no signs of life from her mother and called 911.

An autopsy revealed that Henderson-McTonic bled to death after being shot twice in the head and chest areas.

Her husband was apprehended shortly after noon that day in Somerset. He was charged by police in Conemaugh Township, Somerset County, with criminal homicide in his wife’s death.

When McTonic was taken into custody, a gun case and a revolver along with other firearms, including a .22-caliber gun, were found in plain view on the back seat of his vehicle. Police then executed a search warrant for his Railroad Avenue home and found a .22-caliber revolver, several rounds of .22-caliber ammunition and three empty .22-caliber shells.

The two were married on March 14 and almost immediately began having problems, said Jennifer Kramer of Jerome, also a daughter of Henderson-McTonic. She said the couple stayed together just four days after they were married, with her mother asking McTonic to leave their house, saying she was seeking a divorce.

At the time of her death, Henderson-McTonic was residing at the School Avenue home. McTonic lived nearby on Railroad Avenue.

Kramer testified Friday that her mother had told her the day after the wedding that she believed she had made a mistake.

Shawn Malzi, a neighbor who lives close to the Henderson-McTonic residence, said he and a friend heard a “pop-pop-pop” at approximately 9:30 p.m. April 2. Malzi, who spent five years in the Army, said he had no doubt that the sounds were gunfire, but he and a friend could see nothing when they looked outside.

He said there is a shooting range not far from the homes, and he and his friend did not go outside to investigate further.

Geraldine Bailey of Somerset testified that she and McTonic met on Dec. 24, 2008, and began a relationship. She said McTonic spent part of the evening on the Thursday before he got married with her and told her he was not going to marry Ruth Henderson. She said McTonic called her at about 7 a.m. on April 3, saying “Ruth was shot and was dead.”

District Attorney Jerry Spangler said Bailey’s testimony was critical, noting Henderson-McTonic’s body was not found until about 9:30 a.m. that morning.

In his summation, defense attorney Joseph Policicchio contended Bailey was mistaken. He said the information about Henderson-McTonic being shot and killed was not told to her by McTonic until another telephone call they had at about noon the same day, after the body was found that morning by Zimmerman.

At the conclusion of the hearing, Cook ruled there was sufficient evidence to show that a crime was committed, saying Henderson-McTonic’s death was neither an accidental shooting nor a suicide. The purpose of a preliminary hearing is not to determine the guilt or innocence of a suspect, said Carolann A. Young, an assistant district attorney, who assisted Spangler at the hearing.

Kenneth Johnson also represented McTonic at Friday’s hearing.

McTonic did not testify.