Jul 15, 2022 5 min read

The North Strabane man who has been jailed for more than eight years while awaiting trial in the 2014 shooting death of his wife is claiming that her fatal gunshot wound was “self-inflicted” and accusing investigators of tampering with evidence in his case.

Scott Edmonds sent a package of materials to the Observer-Reporter this week that included a hand-written, five-page letter and various documents that he claims will prove his innocence while showing evidence collected by North Strabane police’s lead investigator cannot be trusted.

Edmonds, 58, is charged with homicide in the fatal shooting of his wife, 49-year-old Louise M. Weis-Edmonds, in their North Strabane condominium March 25, 2014. Police found the body of Weis-Edmonds in the kitchen of their residence with Edmonds lying on top of her cradling her, although the handgun was located in another room, according to investigators.

Edmonds claimed in his letter to have forensic experts who will testify at his upcoming trial that blood patterns photographed on his wife’s right hand match the shape of the trigger guard and pistol grip. He also claimed that clotted blood was deposited on his clothing “long after my arrest” that was not visible in the arrest photograph. Edmonds took exception with the lead detective’s work and enclosed termination notices that accuse the former police officer of lying to his chief in unrelated matters.

“Experts confirm that my wife’s shooting was self-inflicted, and that North Strabane Police Department tampered with evidence in my case,” Edmonds wrote in his letter.

Edmonds has been held without bond in the Washington County jail ever since his wife’s death as he’s feuded with the six attorneys who have represented him over the years and fired several of them. He was most recently in court last Friday for a Rule 600 hearing in which his public defender, Rose Semple, argued for Edmonds to be released because she contended that too much time has elapsed in bringing the case to trial. Barring any other delays or legal setbacks, Edmonds is set to go to trial in late August.

Edmonds apparently sent the package following Friday’s hearing and it arrived at the newspaper’s Washington offices Thursday. Washington County jail Warden Jeffrey Fewell confirmed Thursday that the package was indeed sent from Edmonds.

The main argument by Edmonds is that evidence procured by former North Strabane police detective John Wybranowski, who was the lead investigator on the homicide case, cannot be believed because of the officer was fired from the department in January 2016.

Wybranowski was terminated for violating the North Strabane’s computer usage policy and police department orders for allegedly viewing and copying documents found on a former parks and recreation director’s computer and cellphone. An arbitrator brought in to handle a union appeal following Wybranowski’s termination claimed the former police officer lacked credibility during an internal investigation and likely lied in portions of his interviews into the matter.

Edmonds also provided emails between North Strabane police Chief John Hughes and then-District Attorney Gene Vittone raising concerns about Wybranowski’s behavior. Vittone responded that he intended to refer the matter involving Wybranowski to the state Attorney General’s office because they were “conflicted out of any prosecutorial decisions” due to the lead investigator’s role in the Edmonds investigation. No charges have ever been filed against Wybranowski.

Washington County District Attorney Jason Walsh said the claims by Edmonds are nothing new as the defendant has personally filed numerous motions while awaiting trial. Walsh said any evidence relating to Wybranowski’s involvement has been excluded.

“We deny any and all of those allegations and … we look forward to bringing the case to trial,” Walsh said Thursday.

Hughes, who fired Wybranowski, did not return a phone message seeking comment. Semple, who has been representing Edmonds since April, declined to comment on her client’s letter sent to the newspaper.

Edmonds claims evidence at the scene was tampered with, explaining why the handgun allegedly used to kill Weis-Edmonds was found in the pocket of a pool table in another room of house far away from the woman’s body. He accused police of moving the handgun, although Edmonds provided no proof that it occurred.

But Weis-Edmonds died of a gunshot wound to the back of her head, Washington County Coroner Tim Warco testified at the preliminary hearing in April 2014. And another witness testified at the hearing that Edmonds called her and said “I killed Louise. I am sorry” the day of the woman’s death. The call was made to the home of a patient of Edmonds’, who worked as a physical therapist.

Edmonds was also accused of pushing his wife and biting her arm during a fight in their home a month before her death. A district judge ordered Edmonds to undergo anger management following his preliminary hearing two weeks before the shooting. He was also accused of assaulting Weis-Edmonds in 2011.

In his letter, Edmonds said he has worked for years from jail submitting legal filings to “ignite an investigation, fuel public awareness, and dismiss a few bad actors in an attempt to receive a fair and unbiased trial.” He’s currently attempting to sue Semple and President Judge John DiSalle in order to be able to represent himself at his trial.

“It took my life savings including the sale of my home to procure these documents,” he said.