Jury in homicide case hears of ‘Murder’ song
A Washington County jury will have to decide if James Bongiorni should have – or could have – avoided a confrontation with the father of his grandchild, or if he was acting to protect himself and his family from the man who allegedly told Bongiorni’s daughter, according to a statement she gave to police, he was “writing a new song today called ‘Murder.'”
Another matter the jury will have to resolve is conflicting testimony about whether the victim, Brian Wilbert of Imperial, was armed with a Bowie knife during a standoff the night of April 27, 2016, with Bongiorni, a former police officer, on Hillcrest Avenue in Burgettstown.
Because the then-68-year-old Bongiorni, who lived near his daughter, Darlo, argued with Wilbert, 30 years his junior, in the middle of a public street, laws applying to defense of one’s home, known as the “Castle Doctrine,” do not figure into this trial.
Bongiorni, however, is relying on the legal strategy of self-defense and acting in defense of his family members.
Deputy District Attorney Jason Walsh qualified Dr. R. Paul McCauley, emeritus professor of criminology at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, as an expert who told the jury a citizen has a duty to avoid confrontation.
During the second day of testimony before Judge Michael Lucas, the jury also heard Wednesday from investigating Officer Ross Youree of the McDonald Police Department, who learned a neighbor had recorded part of the confrontation on her cellphone from her second-floor bedroom window.
When asked about the eight-second video clip, McCauley said, “I didn’t see any action of the decedent that would cause me to believe (Bongiorni) was in fear of death.”
A long-bladed Bowie knife and a penknife were found in Wilbert’s car. Although Wilbert was shot in the stomach, neither knife held traces of blood.
After viewing the video clip and reading a police report, McCauley reached the conclusion “Brian Wilbert just stood there and argued, and he was shot.”
One of Bongiorni’s attorneys, Albert Veverka, in cross-examining McCauley, tried to show the context of the confrontation, bringing up Wilbert’s blood-alcohol content of 0.297 percent, more than three times the level at which intoxication is presumed in drunken driving cases.
Wilbert, who allegedly threatened to kill Darlo Bongiorni, whom he had been accused of mentally and physically abusing, also was demanding to see his son.
In a statement to Youree, Darlo Bongiorni said Wilbert told her the day he was shot, “Darlo, you belong to me only. Don’t ever forget that, and I’m writing you a new song today called ‘Murder.'”
Another of Bongiorni’s attorneys, Robert DelGreco, focused on Darlo Bongiorni’s call to the 911 emergency center shortly after 8 p.m. that night requesting a call back from police about Wilbert’s threats. Youree acknowledged he did not return her call, but arrived at Hillcrest Avenue at 9:27 p.m., after the shooting had occurred.
Testimony is scheduled to resume at 9:15 a.m. today.