UNIONTOWN, Pa. -- The homicide trial for a Fayette County woman accused of shooting her boyfriend after an argument ended with a hung jury Thursday.
State police said Johnna Marie Palya, 44, of Hopwood, told them that she accidentally shot Barry Pavlicko, 43, at the couple's home in North Union Township. Pavlicko died about two months after the August 2007 shooting.
Jurors at the county courthouse told Judge Gerald Solomon that they were not able to reach a verdict in the case. Palya will be tried again, perhaps as early as next month.
Dr. Cyril Wecht, a forensic pathologist and Allegheny County's former medical examiner, was called as a prosecution witness Tuesday. He testified that the bullet entered the back of Pavlicko's head and exited the front of the top of his head.
Palya contends she tried to fire over Pavlicko's head, but that he pulled on the gun as she did so and she shot him in the forehead, according to police.
Also in court Tuesday was Pavlicko's 23-year-old daughter, Haley, who told Channel 4 Action News that she was shocked when she heard what happened to her father and will never get over it.
"I wanted her to get the death penalty. She took my father's life, and I do believe if you take someone's life, you should kill the same," Haley Pavlicko said. "But I do hope for her to get life in prison. First-degree murder is what I'm hoping for."
On Monday, WTAE Channel 4's news exchange partners at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported that Haley Pavlicko testified her father dated Palya for about six years, and that she went to his house for lunch on the day of the shooting but Palya told her he was asleep after working a midnight shift at his security job.
When Palya was first charged, police said the couple had been fighting over a pillow that she wanted to use, but trial testimony showed the fight stemmed from a man flirting with her when they were out drinking.
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