Youngwood women accused of assault over Steelers game volume want evaluations

Attorneys for two Youngwood women accused of assaulting and shaving the head of a 77-year-old relative because they were angry about the volume of her radio during the Aug. 20 Pittsburgh Steelers preseason game want independent psychiatric evaluations of their clients before the criminal case proceeds.

Tim Dawson, court-appointed attorney for Delores M. Amorino, 40, and Jennifer DeFlitch, a public defender representing Amorino's daughter, Sarah, 18, waived their clients' scheduled preliminary hearing Tuesday on multiple assault complaints.

“We are going to seek an independent psychiatric evaluation of our clients. There is no merit to having a hearing here today,” Dawson told District Judge Tony Bompiani.

“We retain our rights to bring challenges to the charges in the court of common pleas. Both of these women have severe psychiatric issues that have to be dealt with in court,” Dawson said.

Dawson said the Amorinos have rejected plea agreements. While initial psychiatric evaluations indicate they are competent to stand trial, Dawson said multiple issues raised in those reports need to be addressed.

Both Amorinos are charged with aggravated assault, criminal conspiracy, strangulation, terroristic threats, false imprisonment, simple assault, harassment and criminal mischief filed by state police in Greensburg.

Sarah Amorino was 17 when the assault occurred; she turned 18 while in the county jail.

Both women were remanded to the jail, where they are being held on $200,000 bond each.

The Amorinos were arrested Aug. 22 after the victim, Delores Amorino's mother, fled the home and walked more than half a mile to the Youngwood Borough building to report the abuse. She spent a night in Excela Health Westmoreland hospital for treatment of multiple injuries.

The victim was in court Tuesday, accompanied by family members, ready to testify against her relatives.

State police allege the abuse occurred over two days — Aug. 20 and 21 — and started when the Amorinos began arguing with the victim over the television volume during the Steelers game on Aug. 20, Trooper Ty Smith alleges in an affidavit of probable cause. Police said the older woman has a hearing impairment.

“The victim was unhappy with the volume of the TV after the defendants turned the volume low, so the victim locked herself in the bedroom and turned on her radio. The defendants broke the door jamb, entered the victim's room, saying, ‘You don't need to listen to the game' and began abusing her,” Smith said in the affidavit.

The woman told Smith the teenager struck her in the face with a metal-handled broom, “causing bruising and a fat lip,” and Delores Amorino twisted her arm, “causing severe bruising and swelling in the left forearm.”

The victim said one of them struck the back of her head and her chest with the broom, causing bruising and swelling.

Authorities allege the abuse continued the next day, according to court documents.

“Sarah Amorino shaved the victim's head using scissors and a shaver ... also choked the victim using her bare hands, injuring the victim's neck,” Smith said in the affidavit.

The younger Amorino then tied a scarf around the victim's neck, “choking her at first, then she attempted to pull the victim up by the scarf wrapped around the neck,” Smith said.

The woman showed troopers bruising on her stomach, back, lower legs, thighs and arms, according to the affidavit.

“The victim was made to believe if she left the home to attempt to get help, she would be tracked down and beat again,” Smith wrote.

Battered and bruised, the victim was able to walk a half-mile from the Burton Avenue home to the borough building for help, police said.

Paul Peirce is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-850-2860, ppeirce@tribweb.com or via Twitter @ppeirce_trib.