By Bob Bauder

Published: Sunday, November 4, 2012, 11:44 a.m.
Updated: Friday, March 29, 2013

After a night of drinking with his wife and stepbrother, a Baldwin man returned home early Sunday and fatally shot his wife during a domestic dispute, police said.

Benjamin Conway Jr., 31, attempted suicide by cutting himself with broken glass, but survived, Allegheny County police said.

Police charged him with homicide and recklessly endangering another person. He was being treated at a local hospital pending arraignment.

Conway, his wife Kimberly Jo, 33, and his stepbrother, Clifford Hockenberry, no age or address available, drank at several bars on Saturday night before returning to the Conway home in the 5200 block of Meadowcrest Road, according to a criminal complaint.

Hockenberry told police the Conways began arguing in the basement and he heard a shot about 1 a.m. He went to the basement and found Kimberly Conway unresponsive on the floor. “I killed Kim,” Conway reportedly told his stepbrother.

Conway threatened to kill himself with a .357-caliber revolver and Hockenberry grabbed the gun, according to the complaint. The gun discharged in the kitchen as he wrestled it away from Conway.

Hockenberry said he ran outside with the gun and called police.

Neighbors said they were awakened by screaming. They said the Conways moved into the neighborhood last year. Conway worked at an area steel mill and his wife was employed by a veterinarian, according to next-door neighbor Beverly Edgar, 61.

“I looked out, and there were cops all over the road and cops' cars,” she said. “I couldn't get back to sleep. I've been awake since 1 (a.m.).”

Edgar said she spoke to the couple only on occasions when they were outside around the house. Kimberly Conway was not a talkative sort, she added.

“Before, you weren't really afraid of anything, but this is getting close to home.” Edgar said.

Bob Bauder is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-765-2312 or bbauder@tribweb.com.

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