Pennsylvania Man on Trial After Allegedly Shooting Girlfriend 17 Times and Turning Himself In

Miranda Grimm-Gilarski, 19, was allegedly shot at least 17 times by her boyfriend Darion Abel, now 27

A Pennsylvania man who allegedly gunned down his teenage girlfriend in a brutal shooting told police, “I just shot my girlfriend 17 times,” moments after the killing, jurors heard in court on Monday.

Darion Abel, 27, is accused of killing 19-year-old Miranda Grimm-Gilarski at her Munhall home outside Pittsburgh on November 17, 2018. Prosecutors said Abel opened fire at close range and continued shooting until his gun was empty. “A person does not shoot another individual 17 or 18 times without intending for that person to die,” Allegheny County Assistant District Attorney Alexa Roberts told jurors.

After the shooting, Abel allegedly drove to the Munhall Police Department, approached Officer Jason Poniewaz, and confessed to the murder. He reportedly told the officer the weapon, a 9mm pistol, was on the front seat of his car. Police later found Grimm-Gilarski’s body on her living room floor with multiple gunshot wounds. Investigators recovered additional bullets from the basement ductwork, suggesting Abel kept firing even after she collapsed.

Darion Abel drove to a nearby police station and confessed to killing his girlfriend in 2018

Abel was arrested and charged with homicide, burglary, and carrying a firearm without a license. He has been held without bail for nearly seven years, with his trial delayed almost 20 times since 2019.

The couple’s year-long relationship was described as violent, with documented assaults against each other. Just weeks before the killing, on October 30, 2018, they were involved in another altercation. Prosecutors said Abel received a court notice connected to that assault and became enraged, sparking a heated argument with Grimm-Gilarski over the phone before driving to her home, kicking in the door, and opening fire.

Abel’s defense attorney, Patrick Thomassey, admitted his client killed Grimm-Gilarski but argued he was not in control of his actions. “This is not a whodunit. I’m not asking you to find him not guilty. I’m asking you to find him guilty but mentally ill,” Thomassey told jurors. A psychiatrist who evaluated Abel in 2022 and again earlier this year is expected to testify that he suffered diminished capacity at the time of the shooting.

Prosecutors plan to call multiple witnesses, including Officer Poniewaz and Grimm-Gilarski’s then-11-year-old stepsister, who was inside the home during the deadly attack.