By MARCIE SCHELLHAMMER

marcie@bradfordera.com

SMETHPORT Brian Austin Kuchinka messaged a friend on SnapChat that he ‘did something stupid’ and would be ‘going to jail for life’ prior to his arrest for allegedly murdering a Port Allegany woman last month, according to testimony at a preliminary hearing Monday. All charges against him for the shooting death of K-Leigh Hill-Nelson, 28, were bound to McKean County Court by District Judge Bill Todd.

He’s charged with homicide; three counts of aggravated assault, first-degree felonies; one count of aggravated assault, a second-degree felony; three counts of recklessly endangering another person, second-degree misdemeanors; and added charges of possessing a firearm when prohibited and abuse of a corpse.

He was returned to jail without bail.

A dozen members of Hill-Nelson’s family were in the courtroom as District Attorney Stephanie Vettenburg-Shaffer and Public Defender Phil Clabaugh questioned witnesses. The family sat quietly, sometimes stoic, other times quietly sobbing, passing tissues to each other and offering quiet support.

Testimony began with Dr. Joseph DelTondo, pathologist, who said Hill-Nelson’s cause of death was a single gunshot wound to her head, and the manner of death was homicide due to evidence of gunshot residue on the victim’s skin. There was no indication the wound was caused by

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Brian Austin Kuchinka suicide, the pathologist testified.

The victim’s father, Robert Hill, testified about Hill-Nelson getting ready for work, kissing her young son goodbye and leaving, driving toward the Larabee Y intersection because the weather was bad and there were no hills to traverse on her way to her job at Lakeview in Smethport.

A few witnesses testified about seeing Kuchinka and Hill-Nelson in Smethport. A couple who live near Lakeview testified that at 9:57 p.m. Feb. 21, they heard a gunshot, and saw a red vehicle parked in the road near their house. One witness took a photo of the vehicle while her husband went outside. The car quickly left, they testified.

Later testimony alleged that Kuchinka had shot Hill-Nelson, and drove to the Midtown Motel in Port Allegany where surveillance footage showed him carrying her body into room 41. He changed his shirt, came back out, took the red vehicle and left it at the location of the former Arby’s in Port Allegany and walked back to the motel.

Police said when they went to the motel the next day to investigate a missing person report of Hill-Nelson, they heard a shot come from Kuchinka’s room and called state police for assistance. An hours-long standoff ensued. When Kuchinka exited the room, he had a pistol in his pocket, state police testified.

Kuchinka had a minor head wound, police said, and two troopers remained with him as he was taken for treatment. While the troopers’ body cams were recording, Kuchinka said, “I done f—ed up.” He then told the troopers that when he was taken to the judge’s office for arraignment, he didn’t want an in-law in the room. “It all started with him,” Kuchinka allegedly said.

Cpl. Alex Burkett of the state police testified about searching the motel room after Kuchinka left it.

“It appeared as the beds were made, that no one had slept in them,” he said. “I lifted up the bed skirt and saw a foot.”

Police lifted the bed and found Hill-Nelson’s body, with clothes scattered around her soaked

in blood. A longtime friend of Kuchinka’s from Westmoreland County, Tyler Belak, said he was at work Feb. 21 at that county’s 911 center when he realized he had included Kuchinka on a group chat when they hadn’t spoken for some time. Kuchinka was messaging him at the same time.

“I saw his name pop up on SnapChat,” Belak said. “His first message to me was ‘Love you bro.’ I replied back, ‘uhhuh.’ His followup text was ‘have a good life man.’

Kuchinka then allegedly messaged, “I did something stupid man … I am going to jail for life.”

Belak said he called him, but Kuchinka didn’t say what he had done.

“He made a statement, ‘I’m going to kill him or I am going to kill myself,’” Belak said. Kuchinka did not say to whom he was referring. Belak, thinking Kuchinka sounded suicidal, told him not to make rash decisions.

It was 10:46 p.m. when the chat began, Belak said. It was 10:56 p.m. when he called Kuchinka.

Shaffer asked about the two both belonging to a fire department in Westmoreland County. Belak said they were members, but Kuchinka had to leave because of a domestic violence charge.

Trooper Whitney Boshart, the investigating officer on the case, said Kuchinka had called his employer at 10:40 p.m. Feb. 21 to say he wouldn’t be in to work the next day because he wasn’t feeling well.

A co-worker of Hill-Nelson’s had messaged her on Facebook to ask why she wasn’t at work. Police allege Kuchinka used her account to message the coworker back, pretending to be Hill-Nelson, saying she had a flat tire. All of the messages, Boshart said, were after the gunshot heard in Smethport.

At the end of the hearing, Clabaugh made a brief argument to have the charges of recklessly endangering another person dismissed, alleging the information presented did not support those specific charges. Todd disagreed and bound all charges to court.