'You shot my mom,' North Side boy says he told teen

The son of a slain Allegheny County courts reporter testified Friday he saw his cousin shoot his mother.

Patrick Wilds, 14, told a district judge during a preliminary hearing in Pittsburgh Municipal Court that Jayquan Massey, 18, was firing at a red sport utility vehicle on Nov. 21, when he missed and shot Cheryl Wilds.

Wilds, 47, was hit in the neck while carrying Thanksgiving groceries in her Perry North neighborhood. She died Feb. 27.

"She was walking with her boyfriend, Mr. George (Wilson). A red SUV passed them and (Massey) started shooting toward my mom," Patrick Wilds testified. "He started running. I said, 'You shot my mom,' as he ran past me.

"I just seen her on the ground, all this blood."

District Judge David Sosovicka ruled Massey will stand trial on charges of homicide, reckless endangerment and carrying a firearm without a license. Before Wilds' death, Massey was facing aggravated assault and attempted homicide charges.

Defense attorney Noah Geary said Massey is not the shooter.

"I think Patrick's testimony is interesting, but whether or not it's truthful, we'll find out," Geary said. "(Massey) was in the area, but he did not shoot this woman."

Deputy District Attorney Mark V. Tranquilli said the occupants of the SUV were taunting Massey before he started firing.

Wilds' relatives and friends said she had been improving since the shooting and responding to treatment after being transferred from Allegheny General Hospital to Shadyside Nursing Rehabilitation Center, where she died.

The bullet severed an artery in her neck, leaving her unable to walk or speak, said friend Robin Scott.

"She could move her arms. I would ask her to move her arm if she was in pain and she would," Scott said. "She knew what I was saying to her. We thought the hard part was over.

"(Last month) was the first time I saw her cry since it happened. We both cried together because she realized her situation. She was such a beautiful person."