A Clearfield County jury today convicted a DuBois man of first degree murder after he cut his girlfriend’s throat last September.
We have reaction from the victim’s family and one of the 12 jurors.
Following two days of evidence, the jury took less than an hour to decide after returning Wednesday morning.
Joseph Fields, 36, did take the stand during his trial, but it didn’t save him from a guilty verdict.
“I think that was just his way of trying to get out of murder one,” says victim’s sister Bonnie Tucker. “He showed no emotion throughout the whole trial. If you claim that you love somebody that much, you would have showed some emotion.”
“She was a very kind-hearted person and she loved her children,” says sister Barbara Wilcox.
Wilcox says she’s now taking care of Nicole Snyder’s son. The 7-year-old was there the night of the murder.
“He’s doing as well as he can without his mother,” says Tucker. “Joe took two children’s mothers away from them and that is the most horrible thing you can do to a child.”
Snyder, 33, also left behind a daughter.
“Her life was her kids and to be ripped away from her children is wrong,” says Tucker.
“I had a hard time believing his rendition of the episode,” says juror Henry Shaffer.
“So you didn’t believe him at all then?” we asked. “Did not believe him at all,” says Shaffer.
Shaffer says at age 68, his first time on a jury turned out to be a murder case.
“The only discussion was how much time would a person serve if it was first-degree or third-degree. We had no doubts on his guilt,” says Shaffer.
Some gasped when the foreman said guilty.
“He made me sick. It was sickening that he could even try to say that he loved her because you don’t love someone… that’s not love. He could have saved her life, and he didn’t,” says Wilcox.
“We’ll be able to move on knowing that he’ll be in jail for the rest of his life and he will not get out. She did get her justice,” says Tucker.
The victim’s family says Fields is not facing the death penalty. He’s set to hear his mandatory life sentence at a later sentencing date.