Pregnant Wife Of Pa. State Trooper Fatally Shot In Montgomery County
By Matt Rivers and Mike Dougherty
EAST NORRITON Twp., Pa. (CBS) – Authorities are investigating after the pregnant wife of a Pennsylvania State Trooper was found shot inside of her home in Montgomery County.
Officials confirm JoAnn Miller, a pregnant woman in her early 30s, was shot and killed Friday afternoon. The details surrounding her death remain under investigation.
It was around 2:30 p.m. when police got the call here on the 3000 block of Stoney Creek Road in East Norriton.
When officers arrived at this house, they found Miller shot. She was rushed to Mercy Suburban Hospital for treatment where she was later pronounced dead.
"She was shot and killed. She was pregnant at the time. The baby did not survive," Montgomery County First Assistant District Attorney Kevin Steele said.
A horrific tragedy that investigators say could be an accident. They wouldn't release the details of the shooting, but say preliminary results show the gun involved may have been accidentally discharged.
"We are investigating the case. There's some indications at this point it was an accidental discharge on the gun, but that's under investigation, and I can't go any further than that," Steele said.
It's not known yet who was handling the weapon when it went off. The victim's husband called 911 and is in law enforcement himself.
"He is a off-duty state trooper and was cooperative with us throughout this investigation," Steele said.
The gun involved was not the officer's service weapon. His name has not been released.
Neighbors said the couple was always friendly.
"Kept quiet, kept to themselves. When we had a tree blow down in a storm, they came up with a chainsaw and helped us cut the tree up," neighbor John Silks said.
The couple has two other children together. CBS 3 is told the children were at home at the time of the incident.
An autopsy is scheduled for Saturday morning.
The Montgomery County District Attorney's Office and East Norriton Township Police are investigating.
