WASHINGTON COUNTY, Pa. — A state senator went searching for answers after a Washington County man cut off his ankle monitor, kidnapped his wife and killed her. On Wednesday, she finally got them.
Tierne Ewing’s parents are still grief-stricken over their daughter’s death. Tierne Ewing, 48, was found dead earlier this month in a West Finley Township barn with a gunshot wound to the head. Her estranged husband and accused abductor, 47-year-old Kevin Ewing, was found alive with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. He was pronounced dead a day later at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital.
11 Investigates has been working to get Tierne Ewing parent’s answers about how and why the system failed their daughter.
Earlier this week, 11 Investigates uncovered documents that showed Washington County’s ankle monitor program was never intended for violent offenders but for alcohol monitoring.
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On Thursday, Sen. Camera Bartolotta revealed she had learned that someone was notified when Kevin Ewing removed his ankle monitor. But she said there’s a flaw in the system.
“Someone was notified when it was cut off,” Bartolotta said. “They’re not privy to information about the case, so we need to change that.”
The senator said that means the person who got the alert didn’t even know who the ankle monitor belonged to and didn’t know if it was cut off or just out of the restricted area. Bartolotta said it’s a false sense of security for victims.
“I was under the false impression that when it goes off, bells, whistles, here comes the cops and that’s not the case,” she said.
Bartolotta is already looking at legislation that would create a tier system of who gets what information when an ankle monitor alert goes off. She’s also looking at the bail structure since the judge in Ewing’s case didn’t increase the bail after the prosecutors feared he would go after his wife.
After learning the new information, Tierne Ewing’s father told Channel 11 News that the more he hears, the more upset he becomes. Tierne Ewing’s mother said she wants to make sure this doesn’t happen to anyone else.
“I will help anyone so no one has to live through this,” Bartolotta said.