Charles Trimmer

LEWISTOWN — Convicted murderer Charles Trimmer was present for a hearing Monday that addressed the Post Conviction Relief Act petition he filed with the court.

Trimmer was convicted, following a jury trial in September 2011, of murdering Darren Parys with a shotgun on July 31, 2010.

Trimmer is serving a life sentence and his conviction was upheld by the Pennsylvania Superior Court in September 2012.

In February 2012, Trimmer was in court to answer to a wrongful death lawsuit, filed by Crystal Price, the wife of Parys. The court awarded Price $556,750 in damages.

Monday’s hearing was presided over by Judge Aaron Gingrich, and Assistant District Attorney Mark Remy was the prosecutor.

Trimmer is requesting a new trial claiming in his petition that his former attorney Brian Perry was ineffective.

Gingrich gave Trimmer’s attorney Ray Ghaner and Remy 90 days to file any supplemental motions.

Criminal trial

background:

Trimmer and Parys had a well-documented history of conflict and a dispute between the two men turned deadly when Trimmer pulled out a 12-gauge shotgun and gunned down Parys, according to documents.

Testimony during the criminal trial by ballistics expert Darren Mortoff and forensic pathologist Dr. Gordon Handte put Trimmer at a range of 9-14 yards away from Parys during the first shot, which struck the victim in the back. The second shot put Trimmer at a distance of 1-3 feet away from Parys, who was struck in the throat, the experts testified.

During the trial, Handte testified the first shot was fatal and would have brought Parys almost immediately to his knees, due to a serious drop in blood pressure from the gunshot wound.

Handte went on to state that Parys may or may not have been alive at the time of the second shot, because there was little blood loss from the neck wound, due to the blood pressure loss from the first shot.

Then, Mifflin County District Attorney Steve Snook claimed during the trial that Trimmer’s version of what happened that day was in direct conflict to the testimony of the pathologist and ballistics expert.

Trimmer testified during the trial that he was accosted by Parys as he drove near Parys’ cabin in his backhoe. Trimmer said he reached for his shotgun fired two shots from the backhoe, but could not see if he had hit Parys because he had been pepper-sprayed by Parys.

Trimmer testified the second shot was fired immediately following the first as Parys charged at him while he was sitting in the backhoe.

Snook put forth the theory at trial that Trimmer had not been as incapacitated by the pepper spray as he claimed, and that he got out of the backhoe, walked up to Parys, who was laying on his stomach, flipped him over, took aim and fired the second shot.