Upper Yoder Township man enters pleas in 2020 fire that claimed life of his wife

Katie Smolen, The Tribune-Democrat, Johnstown, Pa.
·2 min read

Sep. 28—EBENSBURG — An Upper Yoder Township man entered a plea in Cambria County court on Tuesday in a 2020 fire that claimed the life of his wife.

Gregory Z. Clem, 64, entered pleas of murder of the third degree and causing or risking a catastrophe before President Judge Norman A. Krumenacker III.

It was alleged that Gregory Clem set fire to the home that he shared with his wife, Sheila A. Clem, 59, along Menoher Boulevard on Aug. 24, 2020.

Sheila Clem was taken to a Pittsburgh hospital, where she died the following month.

The plea has a recommended sentence of 11 to 22 years in prison which District Attorney Gregory Neugebauer noted the victim's daughters did not agree with the recommendation and wanted to see their father receive less time.

He added that the recommendation of the sentence came from looking at the risk to society and to first responders on the day of the incident.

Katelyn Kordell said that she and her sister understood the reasoning for the sentence, but wanted to see their father receive less time.

"It is a very difficult sentence to bear. My sister and I don't agree with the 11 to 22 years as we don't want to lose our father," Kordell said.

"We already lost our mother."

At the time of the incident, investigators said that Gregory Clem admitted to setting a table on fire inside the home.

According to a criminal complaint, a fire broke out at 10:18 p.m., trapping Sheila Clem inside.

She called 911, saying her husband had set the fire.

The complaint said that firefighters found Sheila Clem against the wall inside the home "gasping for air, suffering from severe burns all over her body."

She was taken to Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center, in Johnstown, and then airlifted to a burn unit in Pittsburgh.

Sheila Clem was placed on a ventilator with second- and third-degree burns covering 85% of her body, the complaint said. The Allegheny County Office of the Medical Examiner ruled the cause of death to be due to thermal and inhalation injuries. The death was ruled a homicide. She died on Sept. 5, 2020.

Gregory Clem will be sentenced on Oct. 11.