Prosecutors say Rostraver woman was 'killed because she was driving too slow' as trial opens
Nov. 5—Holly Vadella insisted on going to her Rostraver home after ringing in 2022 with her mother.
The pair spent New Year's Eve together, along with their dogs, at Dolores Coulson's Fayette County home. Coulson testified in Westmoreland County court Tuesday she repeatedly asked her daughter to spend the night instead of heading home.
"She had a cat who was older and sickly, and she didn't want to leave the cat alone all night," Coulson testified. "I asked her one more time to spend the night, and she said no."
It was the last time Coulson saw Vadella alive.
Testimony began Tuesday in the homicide trial for Anthony Hairston, 29, of Belle Vernon, who is accused of pulling the trigger of a 9 mm pistol as he passed Vadella's SUV on Rostraver Road in Rostraver about 1:30 a.m. Jan. 1, 2022. Vadella, 59, was found in the driver's seat of her Toyota RAV4 with a fatal gunshot wound.
Prosecutors contend Hairston was driving a white Chevrolet Traverse to a bar when he opened fire.
"She was targeted and killed because she was driving too slow for the person behind her," Assistant District Attorney Leo Ciaramitaro said during opening statements to jurors.
Hairston is charged with homicide, possession with intent to deliver, possession of a firearm, conspiracy and tampering with evidence. Ciaramitaro indicated prosecutors are seeking a conviction of first-degree murder, which carries a mandatory life sentence.
Ciaramitaro said prosecutors intend to present to the jury surveillance video from nearby homes that shows Hairston's white SUV traveling behind Vadella's Toyota.
Defense attorney Brian Aston asked jurors to keep an open mind as they're listening to evidence in what he acknowledged was a senseless killing.
"The only thing we're asking is that you be fair," he said.
Vadella had been shot near the left collarbone, and the bullet exited near her right underarm, forensic pathologist Dr. Jennifer Hammers testified. That bullet was found in her clothing, Westmoreland County Detective John Swartz said.
Hairston was arrested during a traffic stop Jan. 2, 2022. Swartz said he and other investigators searched Hairston's SUV, 3 miles of Rostraver Road on foot and the parking lot and trash at Sweeney's but did not find any shell casings.
The pistol suspected to have been used in the shooting was found in a bag that was in the possession of co-defendant Shaquala L. Poole, 32, of Uniontown at the Belle Vernon home where they lived, Swartz testified. Authorities also found cocaine during a search of the home Jan. 3, 2022, police said.
