Accused of strangling mother for life insurance, bank access
CLEARFIELD COUNTY, Pa (WJAC) — David Lombardo of Clearfield was denied bail again Wednesday and learned his case will be heading towards a trial.
Lombardo is accused of strangling his mother to death in order to claim her life insurance policy and access her bank account.
According to the affidavit, police were dispatched on the morning of March 15 to a residence along East Locust Street, in Clearfield Borough, for a reported cardiac incident.
Police say the victim, 69-year-old Paula Lombardo, was reportedly found on her bed "ice cold and stiff as a board."
Investigators say an autopsy determined that Lombardo died from asphyxiation and her death was ruled a homicide.
David Lombardo’s wife testified on Wednesday and said that her husband confessed to killing his mother for her $5,000 life insurance policy on the night of March 14th. She said she was scared for her own safety and that’s why she didn’t call the police right away.
That and the other evidence presented by the commonwealth was enough for the judge to send this case to trial.
Two Clearfield Regional Police officers testified. One said Lombardo showed ‘no visible emotion’ when they arrived at the scene. One officer said Lombardo asked about when he will receive the death certificate in order to access his mother’s bank accounts shortly after they arrived.
According to one officer who was present during the autopsy, the time of death is thought to have been between 7 and 9 p.m. on March 14th. The officers said that upon their arrival, Lombardo told them he last talked to his mother at 6:30 in the morning.
Clearfield District Attorney Ryan Sayers said that Lombardo’s wife, who appeared in the courtroom in a wheelchair, was the only other person in the house at the time of his mother’s death. Sayers says that due to his wife’s limited mobility, Lombardo was the only one capable of committing the crime.
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