Vandergrift murder suspect to pursue psychiatric defense

Nov. 22—The attorney for a Vandergrift woman accused in the 2018 fatal shooting of her cousin is expected to present a psychiatric defense at trial.

Attorney Patrick Thomassey told Judge Scott Mears of the plan Monday during a hearing for Ashley Croft, 38. She is accused of fatally shooting John Edward Smail, 31, of Greensburg at her apartment on Oct. 18, 2018.

"We just hired him the first of November, and we're getting everything together for him," Thomassey said of an expert witness.

Trial is set to start Feb. 10. Attorneys said they believe it will take three or four days.

Police said they found Smail fatally shot near the Longfellow Street apartment's back door.

A witness reported seeing Croft with a gun in her hands in the backyard and another person told police that she claimed to have killed her cousin, according to court papers. Police said Croft told them she was under the influence when she pulled a handgun out of her purse and shot at Smail several times.

Authorities reported finding three spent shell casings and two handguns at the apartment. Croft is charged with homicide and, if convicted, faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

She previously rejected a guilty plea offer from prosecutors, Thomassey said during a court appearance in 2019. She opted to go to trial rather than accept a deal to plead guilty to third-degree murder and serve 30 to 60 years in jail.

Thomassey said Monday the psychiatric defense was pursued after Croft had a court-ordered mental health evaluation. Her family pulled together money to hire the forensic psychiatrist, he said.

Renatta Signorini is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Renatta at 724-837-5374, rsignorini@triblive.com or via Twitter .