Altoona woman gets 10 years’ probation in stabbing
Attempted murder charge dropped after Erb pleads no contest to assault
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HOLLIDAYSBURG -- The city woman charged in 2021 with attempted murder for allegedly stabbing a 70-year-old woman in the neck was sentenced Friday morning to 10 years' probation after pleading no contest to a count of felony aggravated assault.
Shannon B. Erb, 49, appeared in Blair County court via video call from Torrance State Hospital. Erb has been housed at the facility since May 2022, when she was transferred there from the Blair County Prison.
At Torrance, Erb has been under treatment for conditions with psychotic and delusional symptoms, according to court documents.
In addition to a felony count of criminal attempt - murder, Erb was charged with two felony counts of aggravated assault and a misdemeanor count of recklessly endangering another person.
Altoona police arrested Erb, then 44 years old, on Sept. 5, 2021, after responding to a call for a reported stabbing.
Officers reported that the victim was bleeding severely from a laceration to the neck and a stab wound to the upper chest. Police reported rendering treatment until ambulance crews arrived and took the woman to UPMC Altoona.
During the plea hearing, Chief Public Defender Julia Burke told presiding Senior Judge Jolene Grubb Kopriva that a psychiatric evaluation authorized by Senior Judge Timothy M. Sullivan on Oct. 26, 2024, had found Erb to be "not competent, not restorable" due to her "delusional beliefs."
As a part of the plea agreement, Burke asked that Torrance take the lead on creating a home plan for Erb instead of the Blair County Adult Probation Office.
"Discharge from Torrance is pretty extensive," Burke said. "They don't just open the doors and let you out."
In discussing the plea, First Assistant District Attorney Nichole Smith said the victim in the case had passed away and that the victim's adult children chose not to be present for the hearing and did not provide any impact statements.
Smith also stated that the prosecution's intent with the plea agreement was to have Erb be immediately eligible for parole. She noted that Erb has been incarcerated since Sept. 5, 2021.
Kopriva ultimately accepted the plea agreement and sentenced Erb to about 18 to 36 months in the Blair County Prison, with credit for time served, to be followed by 10 years of probation. She also ordered Erb to pay the cost of prosecution, a $100 fine and that Torrance would take the lead, while still working with adult probation, on Erb's home plan.
Kopriva said that Erb was not to be released without an approved plan in place. She then dismissed the remaining charges against Erb.
Those criminal charges indicated that Erb, at the scene and when meeting with detectives at police headquarters, admitted to the stabbing, which she said developed from an argument where the victim told her to be quiet. Before the argument, Erb told police she had been on the balcony yelling at someone who wasn't there.
Officers found a 15-inch kitchen knife that was believed to be used in the stabbing.
Mirror Staff Writer Rachel Foor-Musselman is at 814-946-7458.