Killing goes to grand jury

Prosecutors seek indictment of woman accused in death of boyfriend

GIRARD -- A Trumbull County grand jury will determine if there is enough evidence to indict a 30-year-old Campbell woman accused of killing her boyfriend at their Dearborn Street home in Girard.

At a Tuesday hearing, Kristen Schmidt waived her right to a preliminary hearing in Girard Municipal Court. Prosecutors amended her charge from murder to involuntary manslaughter and dropped a charge of felonious assault.

Judge Jeffrey D. Adler continued Schmidt's $25,000 bond.

The Campbell woman is suspected of shooting and killing her 33-year-old boyfriend, Michael Cusick, on Jan. 4 inside their Dearborn Street home.

Police say Cusick was shot in the stomach or chest area the morning of Jan. 4 and later died of his injuries at St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital.

Before he died, Cusick was able to tell police where the shooting had occurred.

That led investigators to the 217 Dearborn Street address and they spoke to the suspect's father, who directed them to Schmidt.

She told police she did have a 9mm handgun inside a lock box upstairs.

When asked what occurred at the home, Schmidt admitted to shooting Cusick, claiming he had been trying to break into the home through the back door.

Schmidt told police she and Cusick had been fighting "all night" and she suffered from a "history of domestic violence," the report stated.

Schmidt told police there were others in the home who were friends of hers, but told police that they did not hear the fighting or the gunshot.

Her friends, she said, had left prior to the police arriving.