GREENSBURG (AP) – A western Pennsylvania woman has been ordered to stand trial in the beating death of her boyfriend.
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that a Westmoreland County judge Friday ordered 36-year-old Crystal Belle to trial in the June 11 death of 19-year-old Khalil Parker.
A detective testified that shoelaces missing from 20 pairs of athletic shoes were found bloodied and knotted together underneath the kitchen counter and tied to an upstairs bed frame in her Jeannette apartment.
He said when the defendant was arrested weeks later, she was wearing sneakers that had no shoelaces. Authorities say they believe she used the shoelaces to tie Parker up and then beat him to death with a snow shovel and a wooden plank.
Defense attorney Blaine Jones called the case “purely circumstantial.”
