Cambria County grandfather pleads guilty to fatally shooting grandson, a Berlin graduate
Cambria County resident John T. Oblinsky, 68, has pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the April 30 shooting death of his 21-year-old grandson.
His grandson, Jacob T. Fisher, was living with him and his wife in a residence along Fairlane Road in Cambria Township when the incident occurred. Fisher is formerly of Berlin.
Fisher's grandmother called Cambria County 911 about the shooting of her grandson, according to police.
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When police arrived they found Fisher deceased with a gunshot wound in his left upper chest lying in a mud room at the entryway of the residence. A 22-caliber rifle and a knife were on the floor nearby, but not next to each other, Cambria County District Attorney Gregory Neugebauer said during a prior telephone interview.
In a probable-cause affidavit, state police Trooper Donald Neisner wrote that Teresa Marie Oblinsky, grandmother of Fisher and wife of John Oblinsky, told police that her husband had shot their grandson.
An autopsy performed at Forensic DX in Windber. Cambria County Coroner Jeffrey Lees ruled Fisher's his death a homicide.
Oblinsky was arrested and initially charged with one count of criminal homicide and two counts of aggravated assault, all felonies. After a plea arrangement, Oblinsky pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter Wednesday.
"Voluntary manslaughter, in this instance, can be described as an unlawful and intentional killing in a heat of passion that was committed under circumstances that mitigated, but did not justify, the killing," Neugebauer said Thursday.
Fisher is the son of Brandon Fisher of Berlin and Denail (Oblinsky) Platt and husband, Michael, also of Berlin. The Oblinskys are maternal grandparents.
Fisher graduated in 2018 from Berlin Brothersvalley High School. He was a laborer for Redstone International at the time of his death.
"There is never a reason that domestic dispute should turn physical or involve firearms," Neugebauer said in a media release at the time Oblinsky was charged.
Sentencing is scheduled before the Cambria County President Judge Norman A. Krumenacker III at 9 a.m. March 23.
Follow Judy D.J. Ellich on Twitter at @dajudye
This article originally appeared on The Daily American: Cambria County grandfather faces sentencing for voluntary manslaughter
