Woman accused of shooting boyfriend鈥檚 estranged wife ordered to stand trial
news@greenecountymessenger.com
A Greene County woman accused of shooting her boyfriend鈥檚 estranged wife following a tussle in a Chartiers Township neighborhood last month was ordered to stand trial on attempted homicide and other charges following her preliminary hearing.
Michaela Marie Hildreth, 27, of Nineveh, is accused of shooting Amy Mruk in the 200 block of Moon Road shortly after midnight July 20 after they had been arguing that night while riding around the area with John Mruk Jr. searching for a missing rifle.
Amy Mruk, 39, testified during Hildreth鈥檚 Aug. 9 hearing in Washington County Central Court that her estranged husband, John, called her earlier in the day asking her if she could help him locate the missing rifle. When she couldn鈥檛 find it in her home, she said she would drive to his house, but he called and told her to meet halfway, so they met in the parking lot of a North Franklin business so Amy Mruk could ride with Hildreth and John Mruk.
But the estranged couple began arguing during the ride, so Amy Mruk asked Hildreth to stop the car so her son, who was riding in the SUV with them, could get out and ride with her daughter, who was following them in another car. They continued driving and started arguing again, however, and Amy Mruk eventually got out of the SUV and began walking around the Moon Road neighborhood where she believed a resident had the rifle. For some reason she didn鈥檛 explain during testimony, she didn鈥檛 knock on the resident鈥檚 door and came back into the roadway.
The SUV then pulled up next to her, Amy Mruk testified, and a argument began between her and Hildreth as they started pulling each others鈥� hair during the squabble. An unknown person pulled Amy Mruk away from the scuffle, but she walked back and threw her hands up about five feet from the SUV鈥檚 driver鈥檚 side window.
鈥淲hat are we gonna do?鈥� she recalled asking rhetorically.
鈥淚 put my hands up and I heard gun shots,鈥� she testified.
She walked around the vehicle and then eventually fell to the ground while struggling to breathe.
鈥淚 can鈥檛 believe you shot her,鈥� Amy Mruk recalled hearing her estranged husband say.
Caitlyn Bolon, who lives near where the shooting occurred, was awakened by her fianc茅 getting dressed to go outside after hearing the commotion. Bolon also went outside with towels to help and saw one woman covered in blood and another woman lying on the ground with a gunshot wound. She said her heard Hildreth on the phone talking to an unknown person and asking for an attorney.
鈥淚 can鈥檛 believe I just ruined my life,鈥� Bolon testified hearing Hildreth say on the phone call.
Bolon said she found two gunshot holes in her house and a bullet fragment in her driveway, which she pointed out to police officers when they arrived. Chartiers Township police Sgt. Charles Stevenson said John Mruk immediately identified Hildreth as the shooter.
鈥淪he鈥檚 my girlfriend and she just shot my ex-wife,鈥� he testified that John Mruk said at the scene.
Amy Mruk was initially taken to Washington Hospital, but later flown by medical helicopter to a Pittsburgh hospital, where she spent 11 days undergoing treatment. She testified she was on a ventilator and suffered broken ribs, an arm injury and damage to one lung from the gunshot wound.
Hildreth appeared for the hearing through video conferencing while being held at the Washington County jail. Several of her relatives and friends attended the hearing in the courtroom inside the Washington County Courthouse.
After hearing testimony, District Judge James Saieva ordered Hildreth to stand trial on all charges, including felony counts of attempted homicide and aggravated assault, along with three misdemeanor counts of reckless endangerment and one charge of simple assault. Hildreth has been jailed on $750,000 bond since her arrest, and Saieva declined to modify or lower it following the hearing.