A plea for extradition in killing

The AMVETS commander wants a woman to stand trial in her husband’s death.

NEWTON FALLS — The national commander of AMVETS has asked members of the U.S. Joint House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee for their support in extraditing a woman who is charged with killing her husband, who was an Air Force Reserve veteran.

U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Niles, D-17th, and Dennis Watkins, Trumbull County prosecutor, have been working with the U.S. Department of State and Department of Justice to extradite Claudia Hoerig from Brazil.

She is under indictment in Trumbull County in the March 12, 2007, shooting death of her husband, Karl Hoerig, at their Newton Falls home.

Karl Hoerig, a commercial pilot, held the rank of major in the Air Force Reserve, flying C-130s out of the Youngstown Air Reserve Station in Vienna. He was highly decorated for flying more than 200 hours in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.

After the shooting, authorities say Claudia Hoerig fled to Brazil. She had joint U.S. and Brazilian passports.

“The case has stalled in light of Mrs. Hoerig returning to Brazil, her native country,” John P. Brown of Boardman, the national commander of AMVETS, told the joint session Thursday in Washington, D.C.

“I request that each of you support the Department of State and the Department of Justice in extraditing Mrs. Hoerig so she can stand trial for the crime of which she is accused, and allow the family of an American hero to have some closure in this tragic event,” Brown said.

AMVETS is a national veterans service organization.

The United States has an extradition treaty with Brazil, but Brazil’s policy is not to extradite.

Watkins is exploring the possibility of having a trial in Brazil.