In the quiet of a late Sunday night in Knox Township, Pennsylvania, the life of 40-year-old Greg Zickefoose came to a sudden and violent end. On March 15, 2015, in the home he shared with his wife, a fatal series of events unfolded that would leave a family shattered and a community in shock. The male victim, a coal miner, was shot and killed in his own duplex apartment.
The evening had reportedly been fraught with tension.
According to police, Zickefoose and his 31-year-old wife, Trista, had been smoking methamphetamine and had engaged in an argument. Later that night, around 11:40 p.m., Trista claimed she heard a noise and, in a state of heightened paranoia, believed an intruder was in their home. Reaching for the 9mm pistol she kept under her pillow, she fired a warning shot.
It was at this moment, investigators say, that Greg Zickefoose realized the grave misunderstanding and attempted to disarm his wife. In the struggle that ensued, the gun discharged again, this time striking him in the chest. The wound proved to be fatal, and Greg Zickefoose was pronounced dead at his residence.
In the aftermath of the shooting, Trista Zickefoose was taken into custody by law enforcement. She was subsequently charged with criminal homicide and lodged in the Jefferson County Jail. The initial investigation painted a grim picture of a domestic dispute escalated to a lethal level under the influence of narcotics, a tragic end to a life and the beginning of a somber legal process for the accused.
