About a year ago a Coalport residence erupted into flames killing one person. As a result Jonathan Gallagher was charged with arson & criminal homicide.
Douglas Braff attended the first day of the trail Today and is live with the details
Day one saw witnesses called to the stand and opening arguments delivered.
The fire happened the night of April 16th, 2021, at a residence owned by a married couple. That couple testified Today. They were friends with both the victim Matt Troxell, and the defendant Jonathon Gallagher.
The couple testified that an apparently drunk Gallagher, who would often stay at their place, got into an altercation with the husband.
He asked Gallagher to stop coming, in the future. Tensions rose, and the couple said the husband shoved Gallagher from the top of the stairs and threw a cup with some liquid at him.
The couple said they thought he had left, so they went to the second floor kitchen to prepare dinner.
A few minutes later, they say they smelled and then saw smoke coming from the stairwell. The couple escaped through the second floor window but Troxell did not escape.
Gallagher eventually went to the Central Bar and allegedly said to an aquaintance, he knew Troxell died and didn’t mean for it to happen.
The judge told jurors first degree murder in not applicable in this case.
The trial’s set to continue Tomorrow Morning. But it could potentially go on for weeks.
