2 counts tossed against Youngwood woman in alleged assault over Steelers broadcast

A Westmoreland County judge on Wednesday dismissed two charges against a Youngwood woman accused of assaulting her elderly mother during a dispute over the volume of a Steelers game broadcast.

Common Pleas Court Judge Tim Krieger said there was not enough evidence to support charges of conspiracy and making terroristic threats against Delores Amorino. Charges of aggravated assault, false imprisonment, simple assault and harassment are still pending.

Amorino, 42, and her daughter Sarah, then 17, were charged following the August 2017 incident at the family’s home. Police said Amorino’s 78-year-old mother was beaten with a broom, kicked, choked, assaulted with chemicals, had her head shaved and held captive for more than two days.

According to court records, the two younger women watched the Steelers game on television and the older woman went into her bedroom to listen on the radio. The two younger women initiated the attack after they became enraged over the volume of the radio, police said.

Krieger ruled Sarah Amorino was the main instigator in the attacks. While Delores Amorino participated, there was not enough evidence to support allegations that she had a prior agreement with her daughter to launch the assaults, the judge ruled.

Prosecutors contended that both Amorinos threatened to kill the victim.

“However, the victim clearly testified that only Sarah, and not the defendant, threatened ‘trouble’ and no one ever threatened to kill her,” Krieger wrote in his five-page opinion.

Delores Amorino is being held at the county jail in lieu of $200,000 bond. Her trial has not been scheduled but the judge said she was competent to assist her defense lawyer in the case.

Her daughter, now 19, is being held at a mental institution and has not been cleared for trial.

During a hearing earlier this year, a doctor at Torrance State Hospital testified that both mother and daughter were diagnosed with a rare psychological disorder in which they suffer from shared delusions. He said Delores Amorino was able to set aside her delusions and assist her defense lawyer while her daughter was incapable of doing the same.

Both have delusions they are in romantic relationships with one current and one former member of the Steelers and, according to their lawyers, the women believe the players — former Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown and current linebacker Bud Dupree — would intervene in their criminal case.