On a tragic Friday morning, April 15, 2016, the life of 22-year-old Melissa J. Zuk was cut short in an apartment in Etna, Pennsylvania. Zuk, a resident of McCandless, was with her boyfriend, 30-year-old Derek Schindler of Glenshaw, when both were fatally shot. The incident unfolded inside the apartment of Joshua Huber, who would later admit to the shootings.
According to police reports, the group, which included a fourth individual, had been drinking and smoking marijuana when an
argument erupted over $40 that was allegedly missing. Huber claimed that Zuk began to smack and slap him during the dispute. He alleged that he shot Zuk first and then shot Schindler after Schindler charged at him. Huber maintained that he acted in self-defense, a claim his attorneys would echo throughout the legal proceedings. It was noted by investigators that neither Zuk nor Schindler was armed.
A neighbor, awakened by yelling and screaming followed by gunshots, played a crucial role in the immediate aftermath. As Huber was seemingly attempting to leave the scene, the neighbor confronted him with a 12-gauge shotgun and held him until police arrived. Huber was subsequently arrested and charged with two counts of criminal homicide.
Joshua Huber's case went to trial, where the central question was not whether he had killed Zuk and Schindler, but whether the act was premeditated murder or a justifiable act of self-defense. Huber's defense team argued that their client had suffered injuries, including a broken nose, during the altercation. The prosecution, however, pointed to Huber's differing accounts of the events as self-serving. After a weeklong trial and a period of deliberation where the jury was initially deadlocked, Joshua Huber was acquitted of all charges on May 10, 2017. The verdict left the families of Melissa Zuk and Derek Schindler in disbelief and mourning.
