Trial ordered in 2013 slaying of bystander who tried to stop bank robber; suspect's ex-girlfriend testifies he confessed to her
A man has been ordered to stand trial in the slaying of a bystander killed while trying to stop a bank robber in western Pennsylvania almost a decade ago.
At a preliminary hearing Friday in Washington County, a judge ruled that prosecutors had enough evidence to try 39-year-old Keith Wilk of Pittsburgh on charges of homicide, robbery, aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and firearms crimes, according to the local newspaper, the Observer-Reporter.
Vincent Kelley, 46, of Washington, Pennsylvania, was shopping at a supermarket in South Strabane Township on Father's Day in 2013 when a man held up a teller at a bank branch in the store. Kelley chased the robber and was shot five times after he leaped into the back seat of the getaway car, authorities said.
An ex-girlfriend testified that Wilk had told her that he was responsible for the slaying, and after the couple broke up last year she went to authorities. Last month, a DNA sample from an umbrella the robber used matched samples from the defendant, prosecutors said.
Relatives and friends of Kelley were in court for last week's hearing, and Diane Margie, who raised Kelley, said the family is thankful that someone has been charged after so long. "It's bittersweet," Margie said. "But my son will get his justice."
An email seeking comment was sent Sunday to a public defender representing Wilk.
Kelley's family was emotional when they learned Wilk was arrested last month, CBS Pittsburgh reported.
"I cried," said Mark Kelley, the man's brother. "It was very emotional because I never thought they would call or come. I never thought this day would come because it's been almost 10 years."
The family feared justice was never going to be served, but they held out for an arrest.
"It brings satisfaction to know that finally, I don't have to think about waiting on this person or crossing paths with this person," said Vincent's daughter, Sierra Kelley.
"He doesn't know what an angel he took off this Earth when he killed my brother. He will have his time to pay for that," Vincent's brother John Kelley told the station.
