GREENSBURG, Pa. (AP) - A western Pennsylvania man has been ordered to stand trial in the death of his girlfriend, which authorities say he originally reported as a suicide.
A Westmoreland County district judge on Friday ordered 53-year-old Allen Trent held for court in the Feb. 12 slaying of 61-year-old Frances Smith in South Greensburg, a tiny borough about 30 miles east of Pittsburgh.
Authorities allege that the two argued and he shot her in the head with a .44-caliber revolver as she lay in bed, then called 911 to say that she had shot herself. Police said evidence at the scene didn’t support that story.
Public defender Donna McClelland sought dismissal of the homicide charge, saying the cause of death hadn’t been proven. Prosecutors said it was clear that the victim was shot.
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