Man Charged In East Rochester Double Shooting On Trial

BEAVER (KDKA) -- A man is on trial in Beaver County for allegedly shooting his estranged wife and her friend.

The shooting happened near the Hot Dog Shoppe in the East Rochester shopping plaza in December of 2009.

Greg Baker is accused of fatally shooting 48-year-old Thomas Dougherty and wounding his estranged wife, Linda Baker.

She said she survived the shooting by pretending to be dead.

"We told the jury at the outset that we weren't disputing the fact that he shot those two people that day," defense attorney Steve Colafella said. "So, it really becomes a matter not so much of the how, when and the where, but the why."

Heather Guido is the daughter of the gunman and the intended victim. She testified about a phone call from her father moments after the shooting.

She said: "He called me after the shooting … He said he shot my mom and her boyfriend … I asked if she was dead and he said he didn't know."

Earlier in the day, Thomas Dougherty's family broke down and cried after seeing graphic diagrams and photos of the four bullet wounds that took his life.

The defense's strategy is trying to reduce this from a capital murder charge.

"It makes a difference in terms of whether it's a first degree, a third degree, involuntary manslaughter and that's going to be for the jury to determine," Colafella said.

If convicted of capital murder, Baker faces mandatory life in prison or the death penalty.