Wife's trial set in murder of elderly Pa. woman

WASHINGTON, Pa. (AP) — Testimony was set to begin in the murder conspiracy trial of a woman whose husband has already pleaded guilty and been sentenced to life in prison for murdering and robbing his 92-year-old western Pennsylvania neighbor.

Fifty-year-old Diane McClelland is charged with conspiring with her husband, 57-year-old David Allen McClelland, and stepson, 37-year-old David James McClelland, in the robbery and death of Evelyn Stepko.

The elder David McClelland pleaded guilty in October to stabbing Stepko on July 17, 2011, after stealing more than $215,000 cash over a two-year span from the widow, who had kept the cash in her Coal Center home.

Washington County prosecutors say McClelland’s wife and son — a former police officer who will be tried later this year — knew about the stolen money and helped plan Stepko’s murder.

Diane McClelland’s trial opened today.