Trial for Vandergrift woman accused in killing of Greensburg cousin to begin Thursday

Testimony in the murder trial of a Vandergrift woman accused in the 2018 shooting death of her cousin is expected to begin Thursday morning.

A jury was seated Wednesday in Westmoreland County to hear evidence in the case against Ashley Croft.

Prosecutors claim Croft, 38, shot and killed her 31-year-old cousin, John Edward Smail of Greensburg, on Oct. 18, 2018.

Smail was fatally shot near the back door of Croft’s Longfellow Street apartment. Police said a witness reported seeing Croft with a gun in her hands in the backyard, and another person told police she claimed to have killed her cousin.

According to court records, Croft told investigators she was under the influence when she pulled a handgun out of her purse and shot at Smail several times.

Croft is charged with criminal homicide and prosecutors have said they will seek a first-degree murder conviction, which carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

In 2019, Croft rejected a proposed deal that called for her to plead guilty to a lesser charge of third-degree murder and serve a 30- to 60-year prison sentence.

In a previous court hearing, defense attorney Pat Thomassey suggested Croft’s actions were caused by diminished capacity related to her drug use. Thomassey also said self-defense claims could be raised at trial.