Trafford man found guilty of aggravated assault in attack on girlfriend

A Westmoreland County jury Wednesday convicted a Trafford man of aggravated assault and other offenses in connected with the violent assault against his estranged girlfriend.

The jury convicted Alfred Tournay III, 55, of 12 counts, but acquitted him of three felony aggravated assault charges in connection with attacks on two neighbors.

Jurors deliberated about five hours before it returned the verdict in the two-day trial.

Tournay is to be sentenced in several months.

Tournay, 55, was charged with 15 criminal offenses in connection with the Dec. 17, 2020, incident in Trafford.

Prosecutors said he violently attacked his live-in girlfriend then broke into a home across the street, attacked and threatened to kill its occupants.

Assistant District Attorney Adam Barr said Dana Sikora suffered multiple injuries to her face in the unprovoked attack that started after she awoke to find Tournay cursing and making violent threats.

Tournay then went outside and made additional threats when he spotted neighbor Kelly Ferraro across the street starting her vehicle to head out to work that morning, prosecutors said.

Ferraro, 64, testified that Tournay threatened her life, followed her to her home and kicked in the front door. She testified Tournay punched her in the face three times then took a cane from her 70-year-old husband and used it to hit him in the head and stab him in the chest.

Jurors watched security video from outside a neighbor’s home that recorded audio and video of the attacks that included a man’s voice, identified as Tournay, issued threats to kill his accusers.

“What more evidence to you need?” Barr asked. “The video, if that doesn’t tell you his intent nothing will.”

The defense presented no evidence during the two-day trial.

Defense attorney Brian Aston argued that Tournay should be convicted of less serious misdemeanor offenses of simple assault.

He said prosecutors erred by charging Tournay with felony counts of aggravated assault because none of the victims sustained serious bodily injuries with a deadly weapon.

“You are not going to find Mr. Tournay not guilty,” Aston said. “These were crimes that occurred, but we’re saying is he was overcharged. We are not saying what happened should be pooh-poohed by you guys.”