Woman loses bid to drop charges in ex-lover's suicide

A South Greensburg woman facing criminal charges in the 2021 death of her estranged boyfriend lost a bid to have the case against her dismissed.

Westmoreland County Judge Scott O. Mears told attorneys for Mandie R. Reusch, 35, that he did not have the authority dismiss the charges as requested and there is nothing that would indicate he can or should dismiss the Westmoreland County District Attorney Office’s case against her.

Reusch is charged with involuntary manslaughter and aiding suicide in the death of her estranged boyfriend.

She is accused of sending him abusive texts telling him to kill himself.

The former boyfriend, a 37-year-old veteran who was the father of Reusch’s daughter, died by suicide in his Hempfield residence on June 18, 2021.

Reusch was charged by state police on June 13, 2023.

She remains free on $150,000 bond.

Defense attorney Tim Lyon argued that prosecutors did not respond to an omnibus motion they filed in the case, making it appear the request to dismiss was uncontested.

Assistant District Attorney Adam Barr said there are no grounds for the judge to dismiss the charges against Reusch.

Barr said that he did not receive an order from the county clerk of courts to respond to the defense attorney’s motion.

Mears scheduled a hearing on evidence in the case for Aug. 1.

Lyon raised the possibility that there was a conflict of interest in the prosecution’s case against Reusch because Penn Township District Judge Rebecca Tyburski, a former assistant district attorney, presided at Reusch’s preliminary hearing and signed the criminal complaint against Reusch.

Tyburski also signed a warrant state police wanted to search for evidence against Reusch, Lyon said.

Tyburski presided over Reusch’s preliminary hearing because Reusch previously lived in Irwin, which is part of Tyburski’s magisterial district.

Through the discovery process, Lyon said the defense wants to know the extent of Tyburski’s role in the case when she was a prosecutor and want to find any email exchanges involving Tyburski’s work on the case.

“We need to have the facts. We need to understand her involvement in the case,” Lyon said.

Barr said that Tyburski’s involvement was minimal and he had provided Reusch’s attorneys with an exchange of emails he had with her. Barr said he provided Reusch’s attorneys with two or three emails from a state police whose investigation led to the charges.

Tyburski is being represented by an attorney with the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts, Barr said, and any of those emails would be out of his control.

Tyburski could not be reached for comment Wednesday.