Jan 4, 2018 3 min read

CARMICHAELS – A Crucible woman whom Cumberland Township police said encouraged her boyfriend to kill himself sobbed at her preliminary hearing Thursday in which she was ordered to stand trial.

Brandi Jane Stallard, 34, of 235 Third St., was charged in October with aiding in the suicide of Kent D. Armstrong, 58, at their residence. Armstrong died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head Oct. 8, police said.

Cumberland Township police Officer Thomas Obarto testified he responded shortly after midnight and found Armstrong in an upstairs bedroom. Stallard was outside the home crying after she called 911. Obarto said when he first arrived, he wasn’t able to get a lot from Stallard.

“She was very emotional,” he said. “She wasn’t able to talk a lot.”

When he got upstairs, Obarto said he found their 4-year-old child in another bedroom, away from Armstrong with the door closed. Obarto brought the child to his mother as he began to investigate the scene.

A .22-caliber revolver was found away from Armstrong’s body on the bed.

Later, Obarto testified he was able to sit down with Stallard and ask her about the evening. He testified Stallard told him she and Armstrong had been at a bar earlier that night. Stallard told police she had one or two drinks, but Armstrong did not drink. Obarto added Stallard did not appear intoxicated when he interviewed her that night.

The couple argued about an incident with another man at the bar and infidelity in their relationship, according to Obarto’s testimony.

Once home, Armstrong took the child to bed, returned and got a firearm from a dresser drawer as Stallard laid on the bed, Obarto said. She told police she watched him load the gun and put it to his head, and he asked, “Is this what you want?”

She told him, “Go ahead do it,” and Armstrong pulled the trigger, Obarto testified. She initially told police she was unaware Armstrong had a gun, but later said she did know about it, but didn’t realize it was in the dresser. Stallard also told police she was not afraid of the gun and had been laughing at the way he was acting.

Public defender Harry Cancelmi argued in his final statements Stallard had no reason to believe Armstrong would actually kill himself. He added he did not feel it was a criminal matter.

“(Her statement was) not a solicitation for suicide. That’s not her asking him to commit suicide,” he said.

But Assistant District Attorney Patrick Fitch said Stallard laughed as Armstrong loaded the gun.

Stallard has been charged with aiding suicide, a second-degree felony and a charge that, according to the complaint, applies to anyone “who intentionally aids or solicits another to commit suicide,” if the conduct causes a suicide or an attempted suicide.

Kent Armstrong’s mother, Evelyn Henney, emphasized her son was “a good boy,” missed by his friends and family, and he did not own a gun.

“He was just a good, loving son and dad,” she said.

District Judge Lee Watson ordered Stallard to stand trial on the aiding suicide charge and altered her bail to a $1,000 cash bond. She originally was released on unsecured bond after the charge was filed, but had since been arrested on a retail theft charge and was being held at Greene County jail.