Wecht testifies Hyde Park woman's injuries not caused by accidental fall

Head wounds and multiple bruises on the body of Patricia Fondrk after her death were not caused by an accidental fall, forensic pathologist Dr. Cyril Wecht testified Wednesday in the murder trial of her husband, Jeffrey Mark Fondrk.

The prosecution rested its case against the 59-year-old Hyde Park man, who is charged with both first-degree and third-degree murder in connection with the July 2017 death of his wife. Patricia Fondrk, 50, died 10 days after she was found unresponsive after what her husband initially claimed was an accident caused by his wife’s alcoholism.

Wecht said an autopsy conducted shortly after her death revealed substantial injuries caused by blunt force trauma, including severe wounds to the top and back of her head. Additional bruises were found on her back, legs, arms and abdomen, he testified.

“The multiplicity and distribution of all the bruises indicated these could not occur in one or more falls. They were all over the place,” Wecht testified. “These injuries were caused by more than just a bumping-into objects. They take a significant amount of force.”

Westmoreland County prosecutors contend Patricia Fondrk was killed by her husband as part of a scheme to prevent her from testifying against him in a related domestic violence case from nine months earlier.

Jeffrey Fondrk initially told police he returned home from work on July 7, 2017, and found his wife unconscious on the floor, assumed she was drunk and with the help of his son moved her to the bedroom, where she remained for 24 hours before he called 911.

Police did not initially pursue murder charges against Fondrk, but investigators renewed their interest 18 months later, authorities said.

Fondrk was questioned in January 2019 at the Pennsylvania State Police barracks in Greensburg and admitted causing his wife’s fatal injuries, investigators said.

Eight segments of that two-hour interrogation were played for jurors on Wednesday. In the recording, Fondrk at first denied he had any physical contact with his wife the day before she was hospitalized. His story shifted multiple times, state police Cpl. David Leonard testified.

Fondrk eventually told Leonard his wife initiated a physical confrontation after he refused to give her alcohol and that he pushed her over a gate and into the metal arm of a futon.

“I was protecting myself and pushed her down,” Fondrk told police.

The defense has maintained Patricia Fondrk’s fatal injuries were caused by her alcoholism as well as other physical conditions, including anorexia and anemia.

Defense attorney Ken Noga said it hasn’t been decided whether Jeffrey Fondrk will testify when the trial resumes on Thursday.

Common Pleas Court Judge Megan Bilik-DeFazio dismissed two related charges against Fondrk in which he was accused of witness intimidation and retaliation, ruling prosecutors did not present sufficient evidence for the jury to consider those offenses.