Hyde Park man guilty of third-degree murder in wife's 2017 death

Jeffrey Mark Fondrk told a jury Thursday that as his wife lay unconscious on the floor of their Hyde Park home, he extracted a gate from under her body and stepped over her to pour a glass of Pepsi and did so again to sit on a sofa and watch television.

He went to work the next day as Patrica Fondrk remained unresponsive for the next 24 hours and slept next to her the following night after he and his then 19-year-old son moved her to the bedroom, Fondrk testified during the third day of his murder trial in Westmoreland County court.

After more than two hours of deliberations on Thursday afternoon, the jury convicted Fondrk, 59, of third-degree murder in connection with the death of his 50-year-old wife, who died July 18, 2017, 10 days after she was hospitalized for head injuries sustained during a confrontation with her husband.

The jury also found Jeffrey Fondrk guilty of aggravated assault for injuries his wife sustained during another physical confrontation on Nov. 25, 2016.

“I’m just glad. She finally got her day in court. We’ve been waiting for this day,” said Patricia Fondrk’s cousin, Cheryl Kettering, after the jury’s verdict was announced.

Jeffrey Fondrk was the lone witness to testify during the trial’s final day. He described a tumultuous relationship with his wife of 23 years, who he said struggled with alcohol abuse and other medical issues throughout her adult life. Fondrk told jurors he provided his wife with alcohol every day. On the night she sustained her fatal injuries, she initiated a physical confrontation after she accused him of watering down her vodka, he said.

Fondrk initially told police during the investigation that his wife was injured after she fell in a drunken stupor and hit her head on a futon. He later admitted to police he caused her injuries and, in court on Thursday, testified he watched her as she hit her head on furniture after he pushed her to the ground.

“I pushed her and did something wrong. I didn’t want to go to jail. I know how police are. They just assume the worst, that’s what they do,” Fondrk testified when asked why he initially lied when questioned by investigators about why he didn’t seek immediate care for his injured wife.

In his closing argument to the jury, Assistant District Attorney Jim Lazar said evidence proved Fondrk was guilty of first-degree murder for the intentional killing of his wife.

Lazar told jurors that after years of difficulty caused by his wife’s drinking, Fondrk took action to end her life. His inaction as she lay unconscious for two days was evidence of an intent to kill, Lazar argued.

“When she was lying there unconscious on the floor, he stepped over her body and drank his Pepsi. He thought it was done,” Lazar said.

He argued that jurors also could find Fondrk acted with a general wickedness and malice, elements required to find him guilty of third-degree murder.

Defense attorney Ken Noga argued Fondrk was reckless and negligent for not seeking immediate medical attention for his injured wife and jurors should find him guilty of a lesser crime of involuntary manslaughter.

“He was not equipped to deal with this. He made bad decisions, and he is going to have to live with this for the rest of his life. It doesn’t make him a murderer,” Noga said.

Fondrk faced a mandatory life prison sentence if he was convicted of first-degree murder. Prosecutors said the third-degree murder and aggravated assault convictions means he could be sentenced to serve up to 60 years in prison.

Common Pleas Judge Megan Bilik-DeFazio said she will conduct a sentencing hearing in about three months.