1ST DEGREE MURDERER SENTENCED TO LIFE IN PRISON WITHOUT POSSIBILITY OF PAROLE
District Attorney Stephanie Vettenburg-Shaffer reports that the Bradford man convicted of Murder in the 1st Degree following a jury trial in May has been sentenced to life in prison by a judge at a sentencing hearing held at the courthouse.
Thomas MCELHATTAN was convicted of killing Rebecca Haynes while her infant child was present in the home. At today’s sentencing, family members of Rebecca read their statements to the judge about their pain over the loss of their sister and daughter due to MCELHATTAN’s actions.
All of the family members mentioned how Rebecca’s young child will now grow up without a mother. District Attorney Vettenburg-Shaffer recounted for the judge various parts of the testimony from trial such as statements made by MCELHATTAN that he “shot that c…sucker in the mouth” while delaying calling 911.
She emphasized that the evidence showed that MCELHATTAN was acting with calculated acts in deciding to shoot Rebecca who did not want him inside her home based on their text communication yet he drove to her home with her child; that he shot her 5 times, some at close range all concentrated to her chest area; and that the shots were in a downward direction while Rebecca, trapped by a coffee table pressed against her legs, tried to stop the bullets by putting up her hand – only to have a bullet shot through her hand and into her chest.
She recounted the expert testimony at trial that Rebecca was alive for each of the five shots and, she argued that, for each shot, MCELHATTAN could have stopped and called for help but he chose to continue shooting, getting closer with each shot before fleeing the scene with Rebecca’s infant child and waiting 13 minutes to call 911.
The DA told the Judge that MCELHATTAN deserves the sentence allowed for Murder in the 1st Degree which is life imprisonment and she asked the judge to specifically order that he is not eligible for parole. She concluded: “Defendant McElhattan deserves every second of the sentence of life imprisonment he is about to receive.” The judge imposed a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
District Attorney Stephanie Vettenburg-Shaffer commented on the case. “Today brings to conclusion another step in the criminal justice process for the family yet the appeal process remains. Although the trial is concluded, the family will continue to suffer the loss of their daughter, sister, and mother. We cannot imagine the pain they feel, and our prayers will continue to go out to them.
McELHATTAN’s actions took a young mother from her family and left an infant child motherless. His actions will be felt by her family for the rest of their lives. The evidence in this trial was difficult and it was due to the efforts of the officers involved that the jury was able to see how the events unfolded – from Sgt. Gustin and Officer Frederoski arriving at Rebecca’s home and finding her deceased on the couch to Officer Donald Neel responding alone to the McElhattan residence to take him into custody.
These officers showed true heroism in this case, and it reminds me of the risk officers face with every shift – yet they respond, nonetheless. The team of officers from Bradford, Bradford Township, County Detective Bureau, State Police, Foster Township and Pitt-Bradford who responded to the scene as it was unfolding and others who drafted search warrants, conducted important interviews, seized important evidence, and undertook additional investigative steps all allowed this case to come together.
I have heard it said that this was an easy case because the defendant confessed. But his confession that he shot her did not eliminate the critical police work that would ultimately be necessary to show that he shot her with the requisite intent to actually kill her that is required for Murder in the 1st Degree. The confession that he killed her did not prevent the defendant from asserting at trial that the shooting was done in the heat of passion that would have reduced his culpability to manslaughter rather than Murder 1 and a difference in sentence of a few years to lifetime incarceration.
The police work showed that he shot Rebecca not out of a heat of passion but to prevent her from telling his wife about their affair. The tenacious work of the officers showed that McELHATTAN’s acts were calculated and intended to cause her death, and I thank them for the countless hours they each spent doing this important work..”
