Police testify suspected murder weapon in Arnold slaying was found in a shoe

Detectives who searched the Arnold home where police said a man was gunned down last year testified Tuesday the suspected murder weapon was found hidden inside of a shoe left behind at the home.

Statepolice Detective Nick Iera said he initially didn’t see the weapon as he walked through the two-story home to look for evidence after the shooting.

“Someone alerted me to the firearm found in a shoe in the living room,” Iera testified during the second day in the murder trial of Devon Askew. Prosecutors contend Askew, 28, of Churchill, shot and killed 34-year-old Richard Hildreth following a break-in at his former girlfriend’s home along Woodmont Avenue on June 28, 2020.

Hildreth was shot multiple times, including several wounds in his back, police said. His body was discovered near the front steps at the home, Iera testified. He told jurors there was no evidence that any shots had been fired from inside the house.

The prosecution claims Askew intended to kill Hildreth. They are seeking a verdict of first-degree and a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The defense claims Askew should be found not guilty, and that he shot and killed Hildreth in self-defense to protect his girlfriend, Jocelynn Ivanco, and her young child, who were asleep in the home.

The relationship among Askew, Ivanco and Hildreth was a focus of testimony on Tuesday from Westmoreland County Detective Nick Caesar.

Under questioning from defense attorney Ryan Tutera, Caesar told jurors that Hildreth had a criminal record including a simple assault conviction in Allegheny County, in which Ivanco was the victim. Ivanco was also listed as a co-defendant with Hildreth in an attempted robbery case in 2019, Caesar testified.

Meanwhile, Askew was also subject to an active protection from abuse order obtained from Ivanco that barred him from having any contract with her or from being at her home, Caesar told jurors.

“Jocelynn Ivanco permitted Devon Askew to be at her residence and to stay the night,” Caesar testified, noting that two weeks later, following the shooting, she withdrew her request for the protection from abuse order against him.

The prosecution has suggested Askew intended to kill Hildreth when he attempted to break into the home, first through an upstairs window and later via the front door. Askew hid the suspected murder weapon and fled the scene but turned himself in to police about seven hours later, police said.

The defense suggested Hildreth had previously threatened Askew. Through questioning of police witnesses on Tuesday, Tutera suggested Hildreth had ties to gangs.

The trial will continue Wednesday.