Frazer woman found guilty of voluntary manslaughter in killing of husband

A Frazer woman was found guilty Thursday of voluntary manslaughter for fatally shooting her husband after they had a drunken argument about money, sex and a burned tuna casserole almost two years ago.

Allegheny County Judge Jill Rangos handed down the ruling a week after Teresa M. Drum’s non-jury trial concluded.

Prosecutors had asked that Drum, 40, be convicted of first-degree murder.

Dennis Edward Drum Sr., 42, died from a single gunshot to his forehead on Feb. 27, 2017, in the couple’s ranch-style house along Crawford Run Road. The couple had two children. A son died in June .

Teresa Drum didn’t show any emotion at the verdict, and Dennis Drum’s family left the courtroom without comment.

Rangos said from the bench that the most telling aspect of the case was the refusal of Teresa Drum’s only friend to ignore requests by Drum’s attorney, Lisa G. Middleman, to talk about the case.

“Yet she willingly talked with the prosecution and testified,” Rangos told a courtroom with Drum, attorneys and a large number of Dennis Drum Sr.’s family.

During the trial, that friend, Christina Caudill of Lexington, Ky., testified she was close to Drum for 30 years. She testified that she overheard Teresa Drum and her husband on the phone frequently exchange threats and argue bitterly about money and bad cooking.

Caudill also confirmed that on the night of the shooting Teresa Drum sent her a Facebook photo of Drum’s dead husband.

The phone call and Facebook photo were received just before Drum took a shower. After that, Drum called 911 for help.

The Facebook photo didn’t clearly show a pistol in Dennis Drum’s hand, but Frazer police testified that when they arrived there was a semiautomatic pistol in his hand. County detectives filed a tampering with evidence charge against Teresa Drum.

From Caudill’s testimony, Judge Rangos concluded the Drums were drinking heavily, “saying vile and vulgar things to each other,” and making violent threats.

At the trial last week, Middleman argued the pistol could have been under the dead man’s arms or legs and not easily seen.

Rangos said there isn’t clear evidence about the tampering charge, so she ruled not guilty on that charge.

The judge ordered a pre-sentence investigation. A prosecutor told the court victim impact statements will likely be filed, too.

Rangos scheduled sentencing for June 17.

Drum faces a minimum of three years in prison to a maximum of 10 to 20 years. However, she has no previous convictions and attorneys said the judge may also deviate from state guidelines.

At trial, Middleman argued Drum was a battered woman who lived at the end of a lonely road, had only one friend and was defending herself that night.

Middleman said Drum and her husband struggled over his pistol after he pointed it at her head.

Prosecutors highlighted inconsistencies in Drum’s statements to police following the shooting and accused her of trying to make the death look like a suicide.

Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office spokesman Mike Manko declined to comment about the verdict.