[PA] Chief's kid: "Youve disgraced yourself by killing my mom"

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FORMER POLICE CHIEF GETS LIFE IN PRISON FOR WIFE'S MURDER
WFMZ-TV Online, PA
06-20-2008
The former [then] Bernville police chief who shot and killed his estranged wife will spend the rest of his life in prison. It took a jury in Northumberland County less than two hours to decide to sentence Richard Curran to life. He shot 31-year-old Tina Curran seven times in August of 2005. It happened outside the Shamokin Area Community Hospital, where she worked as a nurse. [Link]

10 YEAR OLD CAITLYN CURRAN:
"DAD, YOU'VE DONE A VERY BAD THING TO MY MOTHER. YOU'VE BECOME A VERY HATEFUL PERSON TO MY FAMILY. YOU HAVE ALSO MADE MY FAMILY VERY DEPRESSED. YOU DESERVE TO GO TO JAIL. YOU'VE DISGRACED YOURSELF BY KILLING MY MOM."
TINA'S MOTHER BONNIE SMITH:
"LET ME START OUT BY SAYING THAT MONEY ISN’T EVERYTHING IN LIFE. I’M SURE THAT YOU HAVE COME TO THIS CONCLUSION ALSO AFTER SITTING IN A PRISON CELL FOR ALMOST THREE YEARS. YOU HAVE BLATANTLY MURDERED MY DAUGHTER, THE MOTHER OF YOUR TWO CHILDREN. AND WHILE YOU HAVE BEEN SITTING IN A PSYCH WARD PRETENDING TO BE NUTS, YOUR DAUGHTERS HAVE BEEN GOING THROUGH INTENSE THERAPY TO DEAL WITH THE LOSS OF THEIR MOTHER. YOUR YOUNGEST DAUGHTER, ALEXIA, FOUND IT SO DIFFICULT TO DEAL WITH THE LOSS THAT SHE WAS TO THE POINT OF SMASHING HER HEAD OFF THE FLOOR OR WALL. SHE HAS SINCE BEEN PUT ON MEDICATION TO CONTROL HER AGGRESSION. YOUR OLDEST DAUGHTER, CAITLYN, NEVER WANTS TO SEE YOU AGAIN. WHEN YOUR PICTURE APPEARS IN THE NEWSPAPER, SHE TAKES A MARKER AND BLACKS OUT YOUR FACE. YOU ARE A CONTROL FREAK. YOU COULD NOT HANDLE THE FACT THAT TINA HAD MOVED ON AND STARTED A NEW, HAPPIER LIFE. SHE WAS ABLE TO MEET A WONDERFUL MAN WHO LOVED AND CARED FOR HER AND HER TWO CHILDREN. SHE GOT HER OWN HOME, CAR AND BELONGINGS. SHE FINALLY HAD ENOUGH CONFIDENCE TO DO ANYTHING SHE SET HER MIND TO. WE ALL KNOW THAT YOUR REQUEST FOR CUSTODY OF THE GIRLS WAS SELFISH ON YOUR PART. YOUR ONLY REASONS FOR THE REQUEST WERE TO CAUSE TINA ANGUISH AND TO GET OUT OF THE CHILD SUPPORT PAYMENTS. I HOPE YOU SPEND THE REST OF YOUR LIFE SITTING IN A CELL, HAUNTED NOT ONLY BY THE CRIME YOU HAVE COMMITTED, BUT ALSO BY THE DISTRESS YOU HAVE CAUSED YOUR CHILDREN."


CURRAN GETS LIFE FAMILY’S WISHES LEAD D.A. TO ABANDON TRY FOR DEATH SENTENCE
News Item, PA
BY MARK GILGER mark_g@newsitem.com
06/21/2008
[Excerpts] Richard C. Curran will spend the rest of his life in prison for the shooting death of his 31-year-old ex-wife, Tina S. Curran... In a rare development Friday morning at the penalty phase of Curran’s weeklong trial, the victim’s mother, Bonnie Smith, of Mount Carmel, testified that her family wanted the murder defendant to be sentenced to life in prison rather than be given the death penalty... After listening to the wishes of the victim’s family, Northumberland County District Attorney Tony Rosini withdrew his plan to seek the death penalty and recommended the defendant receive life imprisonment without parole for murdering his ex-wife... Prior to imposing the mandatory sentence, Sacavage excused the jury from the case and ordered a recess. Upon reconvening, Curran spoke to the court for the first time throughout the trial... "I JUST WISH THE EVENTS ON AUG. 24, 2005, COULD HAVE BEEN DIFFERENT... I GOT UPSET AND I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER AS A POLICE CHIEF. I’M SURE MY CHILDREN WILL GROW UP AND HAVE A GOOD LIFE. I DIDN’T USE COMMON SENSE THAT DAY OR I WOULDN’T HAVE BEEN SUBJECTED TO THIS TYPE OF CRIME. I SHOULD HAVE HAD THE APPROPRIATE RESTRAINT TO DEAL WITH IT, AND I OVERREACTED. I SHOULD HAVE STAYED IN MY HOUSE THAT DAY AND I DON’T KNOW HOW I’M GOING TO DEAL WITH THIS IN THE FUTURE. MY FUTURE WAS DESTROYED OVER A MATTER OF A COUPLE MINUTES"... The judge told Curran he will no longer be able to live a normal life again as a result of his crimes. Sacavage then ordered Curran to spend the rest of his life in state prison on the first-degree murder charge and sentenced him to four to eight years in prison on the aggravated assault charge that will be merged with the criminal homicide offense. The judge also sentenced Curran to 1 to 24 months in state prison on the recklessly endangering charge. That sentence will run concurrent with the sentence for criminal homicide... [Full article here]

EARLIER: MOM: EXECUTE CURRAN SOON
Danville News, PA - The Daily Item
By Wayne Laepple wlaepple@dailyitem.com
June 20, 2008
[Excerpts] ...[Bonnie] Smith said she is seeking the death penalty, but only if justice comes swiftly for the former police officer and, according to Smith, skinhead. "I don't want him to be sitting in a cell for years by himself," said Smith, of Mount Carmel. "Give him life in prison and let him out among the general population. They'll get him for what he did"... Smith said she and her husband, Robert, are ready to move on with their lives. They are caring for the Currans' two daughters, Caitlyn, 10, and Alexia, 6... Her daughter left Curran because he abused her physically and mentally, and she feared the abuse would extend to their children. The Smiths moved into the Curran home on Maple Street in Mount Carmel after Tina was killed to give the children stability... "The man ain't nuts," she said of Curran, who has spent much of the time since the slayings in psychiatric units in Pennsylvania until he was determined competent to stand trial. "He just acts like it... Even after (Tina) was dead, he didn't care about the kids... He complained that I had gotten her insurance money"... Smith slipped her jacket off and turned around to reveal a tattoo of Tina Curran on her right shoulder. "She's watching over me," she said softly of her daughter, who would have turned 34 on Saturday. "She's always with me." After Tina Curran took the children and moved in with her parents, her husband was furious, [Tina's sister Rebecca] Doyle said.
"He couldn't tolerate her power when she left him... She finally got some backbone, and he couldn't deal with it. I hope my sister haunts him every day of the rest of his life"... [Full article here]

FAMILY: VICTIM WAS STRONG, RESILIENT
The Daily Item
By Marcia Moore
June 18, 2008
[Excerpts] Tina Curran faced adversity with humor and strength, beginning at the age of 4 when she lost her right leg to bone cancer. "She learned to adjust," said her mother, Bonnie Smith, of Mount Carmel. Former boyfriend Jesse James said, "She was just a resilient woman".. The Currans had two daughters, now 10 and 6, whom Mrs. Curran doted on... "Tina could make anyone feel good about themselves," James said. The loss of a leg didn't hinder her at all. When relatives suggested she obtain handicap plates for her vehicle, the slender 5-foot, 4-inch Mrs. Curran adamantly opposed it. "She said, 'No way.' She just didn't see herself as handicapped," her stepfather, Robert Smith, said. Mrs. Curran valued her independence, even once scolding Doyle for shoveling her sidewalk. "She was always redecorating her house," she said. "She moved a 32-inch television by herself. She just couldn't wait for help." Although at first reluctant to wear a bikini that James bought for her, she relented during a trip to the beach. "She threw her (prosthetic) leg off and, in the bikini, went into the water," James said, smiling at the memory. "She also loved to go dancing"... [Full article here]
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety lethal fatality fatalities murder pennsylvania state politics]