PITTSBURGH -- A witness testified Monday that an allegedly stolen car, which a pregnant woman somehow got out of before being found dead on a state highway in Moon, was covered with blood.
Aaron Thomas Luster, 35, is charged with homicide and aggravated assault against Christine Karcher, 33, whose body was found lying in the southbound lanes of Route 60, near the Montour Run Road exit, around 2:30 a.m. on Jan. 28.
Police said Karcher, of Coraopolis, was run over just minutes after she called 911 and reported that she was being assaulted in a Toyota Camry. Authorities think Luster, also of Coraopolis, beat her and pushed her out of the car, but they have not determined whether she was already dead when her body was run over by another vehicle.
At a coroner's inquest Monday, Lashawnda Cohen testified that she saw the Camry when Luster dropped it off with her friend.
"When I first got in, I saw this red stuff all in the car," said Cohen, of Pittsburgh. "At first, we thought it was ketchup. It took us a few minutes to realize that it was blood ... it was everywhere."
Another witness, Michael Smith, testified that he thought Luster had been acting violently on the night of Jan. 27.
Smith said he got a ride from Karcher that night, and "I could tell that she was scared right away. She was very scared."
Luster's attorney, Bob Foreman, told Action News that he doesn't believe any blood in the Camry can be linked to his client.
"You would have a hard time proving that Mr. Luster is responsible," said Foreman. "All we know right now is that a passing motorist hit a body lying on the ground."
The Allegheny County Coroner's Office ruled that Karcher died of extensive blunt force injuries to her head, neck, torso and extremities.
Police said Karcher and Luster had been smoking crack and drinking alcohol before getting into the Camry, but a doctor who performed Karcher's autopsy and was supposed to testify about her toxicology levels was unable to appear Monday.
Luster is being held in the county jail. The inquest will continue at a date to be determined.
WTAE's Jake Ploeger reported that Karcher and Luster spent a night last year drinking in a Moon apartment that Karcher shared with her boyfriend.
According to a police report, Karcher locked Luster out when he started getting loud, but he allegedly broke in and vandalized the residence, then stole a car belonging to the boyfriend's father. Karcher later wrote a letter telling the Coraopolis District Justice's office that she did not want to press charges because Luster had paid more than $300 in restitution, Ploeger reported.
In 2000, Luster was charged with breaking into a house owned by his mother and stealing money, Ploeger reported.
Three weeks ago, Luster was subpoenaed to appear in court on charges that he broke into a Moon apartment and assaulted a man there, Ploeger reported.
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