Pathologist testifies Apollo woman was killed by shot to back of head at storage unit

Nov. 14—Kelly Steele was shot execution-style with one round fired from a semi-automatic pistol pressed against the back of her head, according to testimony Tuesday in the second day of her husband's murder trial.

Forensic pathologist Dr. Jennifer Hammers testified Steele, 41, was killed as a bullet traveled through her skull and brain and emerged just above her right eye.

"The gun was pressed up in a close fashion, touching her skin through her hair," Hammers testified.

Steele's husband, Alfred Keith Steele, 44, of Apollo is accused of firing the fatal shot on May 14, 2022, at a U-Haul storage facility in Lower Burrell. He is charged with first- and third-degree murder.

Prosecutors say Steele lured his estranged wife to the storage facility as part of the murder plot.

The suspected murder weapon, a 9 mm Ruger semi-automatic handgun, was found buried in a pile of clothes in the storage locker, police said.

Westmoreland County Detective Kasey Gizler testified the weapon had blood on its barrel and was damaged.

"The firearm appeared to be broken. There was a pin missing and a wire was holding everything in place," Gizler said.

The weapon's condition was a focus of questioning from defense attorney Adam Gorzelsky, who suggested the gun could not have properly operated. Gizler confirmed one spent casing was found in the gun's chamber, a sign she said the gun was damaged. A wire was wrapped around the gun and likely prevented it from being fired as designed, she testified.

Gorzelsky told jurors earlier in the trial that Alfred Steele admitted to firing the fatal shot but denied there was an intent to kill his wife.

Prosecutors claim Alfred Steele believed his wife had an affair. Kelly Steele's mother testified Monday her daughter was not romantically involved with anyone at the time of her death.

Gizler testified investigators found a handwritten note penned by Alfred Steele that listed "items to get done" on the day of the shooting that included the retrieval of clothes with his wife from the storage facility and to inform her he had started dating another woman.

Steele, in the note, wrote he wanted the separated couple to be happy and he planned to give his estranged wife a tracker device he claimed he used to find proof that she committed adultery. Investigators said an AirTag tracker device was planted under a carpet below the steering column of Kelly Steele's vehicle, which was found parked outside the storage facility.

The defense has yet to reveal its theory of how Kelly Steele was killed. Gorzelsky, in his opening statement earlier this week, described the killing as a mistake and said Alfred Steele immediately took responsibility for her death.

Cpl. Michael Reinhart was on duty at the Kiski Valley state police station when Alfred Steele arrived, about an hour after the alleged murder, covered in blood and confessed to killing his wife.

"He walked in on his own and said he killed his wife," Reinhart testified. "That never happens. It seemed like he was a defeated man that day."

Rich Cholodofsky is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Rich by email at rcholodofsky@triblive.com or via Twitter .