Focht

BEDFORD — After a five-year wait, the trial of a wife accused of killing her husband — allegedly after suffering years of abuse — began in the Bedford County Courthouse on Wednesday.

Nancy Focht, 75, took her seat in court almost five years to the day after she called 911, in tears, on Sept. 11, 2018, asking for help for her husband, David Focht Sr., who had just been shot in a shed on their property following a verbal dispute that turned physical between the two.

The prosecution, led by Deputy Attorney General Philip McCarthy, and the defense, led by Thomas Dickey, gave opening statements to the jury of 12 women and four men. Nancy is facing criminal homicide and tampering with evidence charges. McCarthy said the prosecution is seeking a first-degree murder conviction, which would carry a sentence of life in prison.

President Judge Travis Livengood explained to the jurors before opening statements that the trial was not to determine whether or not Nancy was guilty of killing her husband of more than 50 years — that had already proven to be true thanks to Nancy’s own

admission in a follow-up interview with state police several months after the incident.

Pennsylvania state troopers testified Wednesday that when they arrived on scene, those among them who had medical training started giving David first aid and CPR until emergency services arrived, as he still had a very weak pulse at the time.

Trooper Rusty Hayes testified in court that they performed CPR for 14 minutes and when the EMTs hooked him up to a heart monitor, he no longer had a pulse.

Prosecutors called five troopers to the witness stand Wednesday.

In a recorded interview with the lead criminal investigator, Trooper Mark Hoover — which was shown in court — Nancy said her husband had threatened her following an argument by taking off his wedding ring and saying, “The next time I put that thing on is when you’re in your casket.” She also said he had “that look in his eyes,” which terrified her due to a history of domestic violence in their marriage, both reported and unreported, she told troopers.

According to Hoover, there were two incidents reported to police at the Focht’s home in Kimmel Township, one in August 1988 concerning allegations of simple assault and one in July 1992 with allegations of harassment. Neither instance resulted in charges being filed.

After he allegedly threatened her in September 2018, Nancy told troopers that David went to the house and when he came back to the shed, she heard a gun being cocked. In her statement to troopers, Nancy said she defended herself and there was a struggle for the gun, ending with David being shot.

McCarthy said in his opening statement that Nancy stuck with this description of the events until Hoover brought her to the station for another interview in January 2019 after finding some details didn’t match with her story, including the autopsy that concluded David was not shot at close range.

McCarthy said when confronted with those inconsistencies, Nancy admitted to troopers to shooting David.

Dickey told the jury that Nancy was relieved to finally be able to tell the truth and only lied at the beginning because she was scared of what would happen if she told the real story.

Dickey said Nancy shot her husband because she was terrified of that look on his face and of the threat he allegedly made. She got her gun from the house and David allegedly charged at her when he saw the gun, prompting Nancy to fire a warning shot and then to shoot David when he continued toward her.

“There was no specific intent to kill,” Dickey said, adding that David had allegedly threatened to kill Nancy several times over the years.

“It’s all about understanding human nature,” Dickey said. “You have to put yourself in her shoes.”

Nancy became visibly emotional in court a handful of times, even starting to cry, specifically when the recording of the 911 call was played and when the pictures of the crime scene were displayed.

The trial continues today and will likely conclude either Friday or Monday.

Mirror Staff Writer Nate Powles is at 814-946-7466.