Murder charges disputed

Pittburg Post Gazette

A woman accused of taking part in the 1992 bludgeoning death of her adopted daughter is seeking to have murder charges against her dismissed.

Roberta Gillin, 53, of Masontown, was to plead guilty to abuse of a corpse after she agreed to testify against her husband in the girl;s death.

A Fayette County judge last year rejected that plea as insufficient after graphic testimony from the couple's biological daughter.

Prosecutors subsequently charged her with criminal homicide, two counts of criminal conspiracy to abuse a corpse.

In court papers filed Monday, a new attorney for Gillin said there is no evidence that she played a part in the death of their 25-year-old mentally retarded daughter.

Gllins husband, James Gillins, 53, was sentenced to life in prison without parole in January 2001 after being convicted of first-degree murder in the death of Helen Gillin. Prosecutors he had been having a sexual relationship with Helen, their adoptive daughter, and Roberta Gillin had found out about it.

The Gillins' biological daughter testified that James Gillin stomped on Helen Giliin's chest and put her in a fire pit. Authorities found more than 2,200 bone fragments near the Gillins' home.