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It was in spring 2004 that someone strangled Charlene Hummert in her Fairview Township home, stuffed her lifeless body in the back of her Land Rover and drove it to a Fairview Township supermarket parking lot, where it was found two days later.
In the eight years since, husband Brian David Hummert pleaded guilty to her murder, successfully withdrew that guilty plea, was found guilty of her murder by a jury, then convinced a judge to overturn that conviction.
The case fascinated the public, in part because of what police allege was Brian Hummert's scheme to divert attention away from himself as a suspect.
During the investigation into his wife's slaying, Brian Hummert wrote letters to police and a local newspaper
The case raised eyebrows again when, during trial, his defense attorney suggested to jurors the couple's adult son might have killed Charlene over a theoretical car-loan disagreement.
National attention: The case has been profiled on at least two television shows, "Forensic Files" and "Solved," and featured testimony from nationally recognized forensic scientists. It's the kind of testimony more often seen on TV crime dramas such as "CSI."
Those scientists -- specializing in soil comparison, linguistics, handwriting, DNA and computers -- are expected to take the witness stand again next week to recount their findings.
Brian Hummert's retrial begins Monday with jury selection and is expected to last about two weeks.
"Clearly, the strongest evidence in this case was the circumstantial evidence in the form of forensics," chief deputy prosecutor Tim Barker has said.
Neither he nor Hummert's defense attorney, Vincent Quinn, returned phone messages seeking comment for this story.
The background: Hummert, 55, remains in prison, charged with first- and third-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter,
hindering apprehension, tampering with or fabricating physical evidence and making a false report.
He pleaded guilty in October 2005 to third-degree murder and was sentenced to 20 to 40 years in prison.
But in May 2006, presiding Common Pleas Judge John C. Uhler allowed Hummert to withdraw his plea.
Hummert was found guilty in October 2006 of strangling 48-year-old Charlene Hummert, his wife of 22 years, in their 10 Boeing Road home on March 19, 2004. He also was found guilty of hindering his own apprehension or prosecution (for the purported "serial killer" letters) and was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
'No recourse': After his conviction, Hummert argued prosecutors withheld evidence that should have been provided to the defense. Uhler, now a senior judge, agreed.
The judge ruled he had "no recourse but to grant another trial due to the Commonwealth's failure to make full and complete disclosure."
Uhler found that a "jailhouse snitch" who testified Hummert confessed to killing his wife was untruthful on the witness stand when he said he was not seeking favorable treatment on three drunken-driving cases in exchange for his testimony.
Uhler noted that although the prosecution knew the testimony was untrue, no correction was made to the jury.
The allegations: Prosecutors allege the Hummerts' marriage was on the rocks and that Brian Hummert strangled his wife from behind with a plastic-coated cable used as a dog leash or collar.
Charlene Hummert's body was found on March 21, 2004, stuffed in the rear cargo area of her Land Rover in the parking lot of Giant Food Store in Fairview Township.
Uhler previously granted a defense motion for individual jury selection, meaning attorneys will be able to ask jurors more in-depth questions than they can during regular jury selection.
Individual jury selection will also help attorneys determine whether pretrial publicity has tainted potential jurors, according to court records.
-- Reach Elizabeth Evans at levans@yorkdis patch.com, 505-5429 or twitter.com/ydcrimetime.
