A Penn Hills woman was ordered to stand trial on charges that she killed a man after a district judge heard testimony Friday from a witness who at times contradicted statements included in a police affidavit.
Constance Carey, 54, is accused of killing Deontay Hamilton, 34, of Braddock, on May 16 at a home on Pine Way in Braddock.
A key part of Friday’s hearing was the testimony of Thomas Pitts, 27, who was arraigned the day after the stabbing on charges that he sexually assaulted a 4-year-old girl.
Ms. Carey’s attorney, James Sheets, said he intends to argue at trial that Mr. Pitts was not at the house when the stabbing occurred and that he offered his testimony in the killing to get leniency in his case.
But Kevin Abramovitz, who is representing Mr. Pitts, said no one has contacted him to discuss any potential deals for his client, whose case is based upon “next to no evidence.”
A spokesman for the Allegheny County district attorney’s office declined comment.
Friday’s hearing before District Judge Hugh McGough was at times colorful.
Ms. Carey turned around to her relatives in the courtroom and smiled at one point. Other times, she snorted at parts of Mr. Pitts’ testimony, prompting a warning from the judge that she could be removed from the hearing. Mr. Sheets attributed his client’s behavior to anxiety.
Mr. Pitts testified that he knew Ms. Carey for about two months prior to the stabbing. He said he went to the house on Pine Way around midnight, about seven hours before the stabbing, and smoked marijuana and drank two cups of straight vodka.
At some point, he said, Ms. Carey said she didn't like Mr. Hamilton and “she didn't want him around anymore.”
He said Ms. Carey went to the kitchen and he watched from the living room while she tussled with Mr. Hamilton. He said Ms. Carey took a knife off the counter and attacked Mr. Hamilton, thrusting the knife toward Mr. Hamilton's neck.
Mr. Pitts said he left the house and saw Mr. Hamilton stumble outside, a red stain on his shirt.
Mr. Sheets asked Mr. Pitts about information in court documents that indicates he told police Ms. Carey grabbed the knife from a rack. Mr. Pitts said that was an error.
Mr. Sheets also asked about Mr. Pitts’ statements that Ms. Carey swung at Mr. Hamilton's neck, given that the Allegheny County medical examiner's office said Mr. Hamilton died of a single stab wound to the chest. The attorney said he disagreed with statements by the prosecutor and the judge that the two body parts were not far apart and could be confused in such a situation.
In the end, Judge McGough ordered Ms. Carey to stand trial.
It was a bittersweet day for Mr. Hamilton's family. Relatives remembered him as a hard-working family man who spent the day before his death supporting one of his nieces at her school function. Mr. Hamilton is the fifth man in his family to be killed in five years, and his case is the only one in which an arrest has been made, according to his aunt, Joy Renee Burgwin.
First Published: July 31, 2015, 6:19 p.m.
Updated: August 1, 2015, 3:26 a.m.
