Prosecutor mulls trial in Brazil for woman

By Tim Yovich

Prosecutor mulls trial in Brazil for woman

The prosecutor’s position still involves bringing the accused woman here to stand trial.

WARREN — Trumbull County’s prosecutor is exploring the possibility of pursuing a trial for Claudia Hoerig, who is accused of murder, in Brazil, where she fled after her husband was found dead in 2007.

Prosecutor Dennis Watkins makes it clear in a Tuesday letter to Edson Oliveire de Almeida, sub-prosecutor of Brazil, that he wants Hoerig to be returned here to stand trial for the murder of her husband, Karl Hoerig, at their Newton Falls home.

Although Brazil has an extradition treaty with the U.S., its policy is not to extradite. Claudia Hoerig has both U.S. and Brazilian citizenship.

In his letter, Watkins seeks a copy of the Brazilian law allowing the Brazilian government to prosecute its own citizens “for a common crime committed outside of the territories of Brazil.”

Further, Watkins wrote, he wants copies of any Brazilian court decisions upholding the constitutionality of such prosecutions along with an outline of criminal procedures in such cases.

“These materials would be helpful to me in understanding any possible future Brazilian prosecution of Claudia Hoerig,” he wrote.

“As you know, nothing in America’s Constitution or laws prohibit the extradition of Americans who commit crime[s] in foreign countries,” Watkins wrote, adding that enlightened countries should not provide sanctuary for common criminals.

“With all due respect, the unnecessary difficulty and excessive expense involved in jumping through the hoops to try a criminal case in Brazil which was committed in America is almost laughable,” Watkins wrote to the prosecutor.

U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Niles, D-17th, has been involved at the federal level to pressure Brazil to allow for the extradition of Hoerig.

Hoerig, 43, is accused of shooting to death her husband, a commercial pilot who held the rank of major in the Air Force Reserves, flying C-130s out of the Youngstown Air Reserve Station. He was highly decorated for flying more than 200 hours in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.

Authorities have charged that after shooting her husband, she used his Southwest Airlines pass to fly to New York City, leaving her 2001 BMW at the Pittsburgh International Airport. She then flew to Brazil.

Two days before the murder, Claudia Hoerig bought a .357-caliber handgun with a laser grip. The gun was found cocked in the house.

According to an affidavit filed in the case, Karl Hoerig told a fellow Southwest pilot that he was finished with the marriage and was planning to move out of his house the day of the slaying. He feared his wife’s reaction.

She left some 900 personal items in the house, according to the document, including 77 pairs of shoes, 59 dresses, 19 businesses suits, 12 coats and some 70 sweaters.

yovich@vindy.com