Jessica L. Callahan

Jury selection is to begin July 11 in the homicide trial of a 20-year-old Hilliards woman for the March 20, 2023 shooting death of Tyler J. Whitlatch, of West Sunbury.

The trial is scheduled to begin during the term that begins July 15, said District Attorney Rich Goldinger. Common Pleas Judge Joseph Kubit is presiding over the trial.

Callahan and Whitlatch, 31, had been in a relationship since October 2022, and the shooting took place at a home on Kohlmeyer Road in Venango Township, according to testimony from her preliminary hearing in April 2023.

She also has testified that there had been previous instances of domestic abuse between her and Whitlatch before his death and that the two were arguing at the time of the shooting. Police investigators have said Callahan gave conflicting accounts of the incident in interviews they conducted shortly after the shooting.

Callahan told police Whitlatch shoved her into a dresser during the altercation. Police said Callahan recalled retreating to the living room, where she said Whitlatch grabbed her by the throat. Callahan told police she then grabbed a 12-gauge shotgun from behind a couch and left the residence.

Callahan told police that Whitlatch followed her outside and walked onto Kohlmeyer Road. She told police she fired a shot into the air, then fired a second shot at Whitlatch, which struck him in the back.

Callahan drove Whitlatch from the scene and was en route to a hospital, police said, but his declining condition caused her to pull over and dial 911.

She told dispatchers she shot Whitlatch at her home and was taking him to the rodeo grounds in Washington Township.

Michael Banachoski, a patrolman with the state police, was first on scene.

During the April 2023 preliminary hearing, Banachoski testified that when he arrived, he noticed a sedan parked between the rodeo grounds and a cemetery on Route 38. A woman, later identified as Callahan, was seated near the vehicle.

“She was on the phone, I’m not sure who with,” he said. “When I moved to the other side of the vehicle, I observed a male lying on his back, not moving. He didn’t appear to be breathing at the time ... As I began rendering aid to the individual on the ground, (Callahan) identified him as (Whitlatch).”

Banachoski said he rendered aid until emergency services arrived, but a heartbeat was not detected.

Whitlatch’s cause of death was listed as a gunshot wound to the torso, according to an autopsy conducted by the county coroner’s office.

Callahan has since been held in the county prison without bail. State police filed the homicide charge.

Jury selection for a misdemeanor retail theft case against Callahan also is scheduled for July 11. She and a co-defendant were charged with taking $400 to $500 in merchandise from the Giant Eagle in Slippery Rock. Co-defendant Frank M. Serevino, 69, of Hilliards, pleaded guilty in October and was fined $300.