Penn Hills man pleads no-contest

A Penn Hills man pleaded no-contest in Allegheny County court Monday to third-degree murder for setting fire to his girlfriend's nightgown after she refused to perform a sexual act.

Under terms of a plea agreement, Donald Allison, 53, entered the no-contest plea before Common Pleas Judge Robert E. Colville Sr. in the death of Frieda Pierce, 46.

Pierce died at Mercy Hospital, Uptown, on March 28, 2000, one month after suffering third-degree burns over 70 percent of her body.

A jury selected to hear the case was dismissed after Allison entered his pleas, which are considered the same as guilty pleas for the purposes of sentencing. There is no agreement on the term to be imposed by Colville.

The judge ordered a presentence report on Allison, who was returned to the Allegheny County Jail to await sentencing Aug. 20. Third-degree murder carries a possible 20 to 40 years in prison.

Allison also pleaded no-contest to arson, aggravated assault, risking a catastrophe, reckless endangerment and criminal mischief, which carry a possible total of 25 to 50 years in prison.

Assistant District Attorney Patrick Nightingale said Penn Hills police Officer Patrick Manning found the victim, who was naked and badly burned, in the hallway of the Duff Road apartment the couple shared.

'Donald lit me on fire,' Nightingale quoted the victim as saying.

When police went to the apartment, Allison answered the door and said the victim angered him 'so I lit her on fire,' describing how her nightgown 'went up like a ball of flame.' The defendant put out the flames but then threw Pierce out of the apartment, Nightingale said.

Allison and the victim had been to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting earlier in the evening, then went to a store and rented pornographic movies.

When they returned to their apartment, the defendant told police the victim refused to comply with his order to perform oral sex on him, and he set fire to her nightgown, Nightingale said.

The defendant also pleaded guilty to a drunken-driving charge stemming from his arrest Feb. 10, 2000, in Penn Hills. Court records showed his blood-alcohol reading was 0.156 percent. The legal limit is 0.10 percent. The charge carries a mandatory 30-day jail term.