Youth Feeling Hopeless About W-b, Downtown

Assistance On Kids' Safety Seats Available

By TERRIE MORGAN-BESECKER tmorgan@leader.net
 Tuesday, February 11, 2003 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1A 





SCRANTON - A state trooper searching through crime photos for use in a
class he was teaching uncovered new evidence that led to the arrest and guilty
plea Monday of a woman in the 1983 shooting death of her daughter, said
District Attorney Andrew Jarbola. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Cpl. Robert Stoud of the Dunmore barracks determined the story Judith Ann
Fuller gave regarding the Nov. 2, 1983, death of her 12-year-old daughter,
Melissa, was not consistent with photos of the crime scene, Jarbola said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The case was reopened in December and further review of forensic evidence
and interviews with nearly 20 witnesses convinced police to charge Fuller with
involuntary manslaughter. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Jarbola said Fuller opted to forgo a preliminary hearing and pleaded guilty
Monday to the charge in Lackawanna County Court. Jarbola believes the plea was
prompted when Fuller learned the District Attorney's Office intended to ask a
judge to order Melissa's body exhumed. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Fuller had maintained Melissa was threatening to kill herself, and that she
was trying to wrestle a rifle from her when the weapon accidentally
discharged. Police say Fuller shot Melissa in the chest as the girl pushed a
rifle away during an argument. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Her arrest comes after a 20-year silence kept by several of Melissa's
siblings, who were present when she was killed in their Tamorth Drive home in
Taylor. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 While lauding Stoud, Jarbola said there are serious questions regarding the
initial 1983 investigation and a second investigation conducted in 1991, both
of which he believes could have lead to charges being filed. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 According to the arrest affidavit: &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The investigation was reopened Sept. 2, 1991, after one of the siblings,
Lisa Fuller, then 17, went to state police barracks in Dunmore and told a
trooper her mother shot Melissa during a argument the pair were having about
Robert Fuller, Judith's husband and Melissa's father. Lisa said Judith Fuller
was angry Robert was at a bar and had threatened to shoot him, upsetting
Melissa. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In 1991, police ordered a ballistics test of the rifle. The results showed
the weapon was fired from about two feet away, which was inconsistent with
Judith Fuller's statement. But the ballistics report was never given to
investigators, Jarbola said, and the investigator never followed up on the
request when the results were not received. ``It's unfortunate. The original
investigation in 1983, in my opinion, should have been handled differently.
Someone dropped the ball in 1991 when the investigator was not provided all
the information,'' Jarbola said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 A public information officer for the Dunmore barracks did not immediately
return a phone message Monday evening. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The latest investigation focused on an analysis of the 1983 autopsy report
and recent interviews with Melissa's now-grown siblings. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The siblings continued to give contradictory stories, according to the
affidavit, with some saying Melissa shot herself, and others saying their
mother accidentally shot her. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Police said Lisa Fuller, who filed the 1991 report, changed her story in a
recent interview, telling police Melissa was holding the rifle to her chest
and threatening to kill herself. Her mother tried to take the gun off her and
it accidentally discharged, she said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Confronted with the inconsistencies in her stories, Lisa said, ``Why do you
have to bring this up. I'm just getting back in good with my family,'' the
affidavit says. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Judith Fuller was released after her guilty plea and will remain free
pending sentencing, Jarbola said. She faces a maximum of five years in prison.
Jarbola said he reviewed other potential charges, and believes involuntary
manslaughter is the appropriate charge given the evidence. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

1983 Killing 
New Proof Leads To Mother's Guilty Plea 
Judith Ann Fuller Pleads Guilty To Involuntary Manslaughter As Trooper Finds
Her Story Does Not Jive With Crime-scene Pictures.

1983 Killing New Proof Leads To Mother's Guilty Plea Judith Ann Fuller Pleads Guilty To Involuntary Manslaughter As Trooper Finds Her Story Does Not Jive With Crime-scene Pictures.