They will do almost anything to charge someone, even when the circumstances are clear. DA files motion to withdraw involuntary manslaughter charges
The Criminal Justices System is not interested in Justice. It is interested in winning. Some members of the system are also interested in reinforcing the idea that you must be completely dependent on the state for your safety. (Otherwise they might be out of a job!) And they have not dropped all charges against this woman.
First let’s talk about the 911 tape. Originally the prosecutor had this woman – who shot her abusive husband – in jail on $100,000 bond. Her lawyer got that reduced to $25,000 when the judge heard the 911 tape.
On the 911 tape, Helena Crosby was heard begging dispatchers for help during the Sept. 24 incident. On the recording, dispatchers told Helena Crosby to lock the doors and stay inside while police were on the way, but as Helena Crosby and the dispatcher were talking her husband re-entered the home and Helena Crosby began to scream just moments before she allegedly shot him.
She is charged with aggravated assault and simple assault.
Helena Crosby’s attorney, Joel Wiest, of Sunbury, said the charges should have never been placed on his client because she is innocent. Wiest said his client acted in self-defense because she was physically abused for years by her husband.
“The facts unerringly show that Helena (Crosby) was in reasonable fear for her life at the time of the incident in question and therefore she can’t possibly be guilty of any of the charges against her,” Wiest said.
But the prosecutor – Northumberland County District Attorney Tony Matulewicz – can’t advance his own career with that story.