Washington Co. Man To Stand Trial For Allegedly Holding Wife Hostage For Nearly 2 Weeks
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – A Washington County man accused of holding his wife hostage for nearly two weeks and abusing her will stand trial.
Kevin Ewing, 47, appeared in court for a preliminary hearing on Tuesday.
"In this case, this was horrible what this victim went through," said Washington County Assistant District Attorney Kristin Clingerman.
Earlier this month, Ewing was arrested for allegedly holding his wife hostage, abusing her and threatening her after finding text messages on her phone.
During the hearing, the victim did not want to testify.
"Sometimes their fear overwhelms them, sometimes they suffer from PTSD; and again, I'm not saying that's specifically to this victim, but to domestic violence," Clingerman said.
"What are we wasting our time with this case for?" said defense attorney Ben Goodwin. "If she doesn't want to testify and go on with the case, then what are we doing here?"
Kevin Ewing's attorneys asked the judge to drop the charges claiming she gave the hospital a different story following a quad accident.
"When you go to the hospital, they separate the parties out and they ask a series of domestic violence-related questions, 'Are you in danger?' 'Are you in fear for your life?' 'Are you being abused?' and she answered no to all these things," said Goodwin.
On July 8, Ewing brought his wife, Tierne, to the Chrome Federal Credit Union in Washington. He remained outside in a pickup truck while his wife entered the bank to make a transaction.
Once inside, she asked an employee for help.
"She had asked for assistance on a domestic dispute that was happening between her and her husband," Chrome Federal Credit Union's Colan Miles said.
Police were called and took Kevin Ewing into custody. Police found a found a rifle and a handgun in the vehicle and a knife on Ewing.
Tierne Ewing told investigators that Kevin allegedly pistol-whipped her, spit on her, tied her hands, branded her with a metal hot dog stick and locked her in a closet. Police say he then took her camping in the woods, where he's accused of putting a gun to her head and threatening her.
Kevin Ewing will stand trial on several domestic violence-related charges including, kidnapping, aggravated assault, terroristic threats and carrying a firearm without a license and unlawful restraint.
Authorities say he was not allowed to carry a gun due to a previous domestic violence conviction.
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