Kathleen Foley

Case overview

Kathleen Foley was convicted of first-degree murder for fatally shooting her husband, Joe Foley, in their Fountain Hill home.

People

• Kathleen Foley — convicted murderer; husband of Joe Foley’s killer.
• Joe Foley — victim; husband of Kathleen Foley; 39 years old.
• George Fleming — Kathleen Foley’s lover and a co-worker at Allentown State Hospital; later testified at trial.
• Brian Collins — defense lawyer.
• Michael McIntyre — First Assistant District Attorney.
• Judge Alan M. Black — presiding judge.
• Trooper Judith Schreiber — state trooper who was thanked by the victim’s family after the verdict.
• Cpl. Joseph Vazquez — state police corporal involved in the investigation; interviewed Kathleen Foley and testified.
• Joseph Vazquez — referenced as the interviewer of Kathleen Foley in court testimony and in the investigation narrative.
• Wallace Worth — defence lawyer noted in connection with the taped statement.
• District Justice Anthony Rapp — presided over the preliminary hearing and sent the case to trial.
• Coroner Scott Grim — examined the body and estimated time of death.
• Firearms expert — testified that bullets taken from Joe Foley’s body were consistent with the model of gun Joseph Foley owned.
• Timothy Foley — one of Joe Foley’s brothers.
• Jean Foley Gray — one of Joe Foley’s sisters; read a letter her daughter wrote.
• Joan Foley — Joe Foley’s sister; asked questions in a written statement.
• Marikay Wrabel — another of Joe Foley’s sisters.
• Marikay Wrabel’s quotes — included below as verbatim quotations.
• Michelle Hannis — co-worker; urged Kathleen Foley to work out marital problems.
• JoAnn Sutton-Lynch — friend; testified that Kathleen Foley said her marriage had become unbearable.
• Martin Ortiz — best friend mentioned by Fleming in testimony.
• Martins Ortiz (as mentioned) — referenced during Collins’s cross-examination of Fleming.
• Debbie Garlicki and Joe McDermott — credited as writers for two Morning Call articles appearing in the record text.

Timeline

• November 24, 1999 — Lehigh County prosecutors argued motive and evidence at a preliminary hearing and the defendant was described as in the county jail without bail.
• September 12, 2000 — Pretrial motions were heard by Judge Alan Black and trial proceedings related to the homicide case were described.
• September 13, 2010 — Defense counsel argued in opening statement that other people had motive and opportunity to kill Joe Foley.
• September 14, 2000 — George Fleming testified at trial.
• September 16, 2000 — Jurors heard Kathleen Foley’s taped account of her husband’s death.
• September 21, 2000 — Prosecution presented evidence on motives and circumstances.
• September 27, 2000 — Kathleen Foley testified for 6 hours and denied killing her husband.
• September 29, 2000 — Kathleen Foley was convicted by a Lehigh County jury after 3 hours of deliberation.
• October 2, 2000 — Kathleen Foley was sentenced to life in prison.
• October 3, 2000 — Family members spoke in a Lehigh County courtroom after sentencing.

The offence

Kathleen Foley fatally shot her husband, Joe Foley, in their Fountain Hill home.

She claimed she did not kill her husband and maintained that an unknown intruder entered their Moravia Street home and shot him while she was sleeping in another bedroom.

Investigators believed the killing was committed with Joe Foley’s own gun and that Kathleen Foley attempted to make it look like a robbery by leaving the front door open, placing a money clip on the bedroom floor, placing obstacles in front of a cabinet where Joe Foley kept his gun, and covering Joe Foley with bedding.

Joe Foley was shot with his own gun; the gun remained missing.

The record described that two bullets entered Joe Foley’s brain and two other bullets were found in bedding.

Victim details

Joe Foley was 39 years old. He was shot with his own handgun; four shots were mentioned in trial context.

Investigation

A 15-month investigation by state police was described as culminating in Kathleen Foley’s arrest in October 1999.

Investigators learned that Kathleen Foley was having an affair with a co-worker at Allentown State Hospital, and prosecutors argued this provided motive.

Investigators found a metal box in a cabinet in the bedroom containing a rag with gun powder residue; prosecutors believed it had been moved and had contained the gun. The record also stated that gun powder residue testing related to Kathleen Foley’s hands was questioned, with state firearms and residue testing addressed in the preliminary hearing narrative.

Telephone records showed that on the evening of July 30, 1998, when prosecutors believed Joe Foley was shot, Kathleen Foley paged George Fleming three times. Bank records were described as showing Fleming made a transaction at a bank machine at 10:59 p.m.

The record included a theory that Joe Foley was killed sometime between 9 and 11 p.m. on July 30, 1998.

The record stated that the coroner estimated Joe Foley died between 9 and 11 p.m.

Arrest and detention

Kathleen Foley was arrested in October 1999.

During the preliminary hearing in the record, she was described as in the county jail without bail.

Trial

Charge and trial proceedings

A jury was described as considering a charge of first-degree murder.

The trial was described as 13 days and involved jury deliberations for 3 hours, ending with a guilty verdict.

Prosecutors did not seek the death penalty.

At trial, Kathleen Foley denied killing her husband and denied being involved in the killing or ordering anyone to kill Joe Foley.

Evidence and arguments described at trial

The prosecution argued that circumstantial evidence showed Kathleen Foley had the motive, opportunity, and desire to kill Joe Foley and argued the killing was an “inside job.”

The prosecution’s theory included that Joe Foley was the “odd man out” in a love triangle after Kathleen Foley started having an affair with George Fleming.

The record described that Joe Foley’s gun was bought in 1993, that the model referenced as Hungarian-made was a FEG model RK59, and that the ammunition was described as Chinese-made ammunition.

The defence argued that a burglary could have occurred and that other people could have had motives to kill Joe Foley. It was also stated that there were no signs of forced entry or a break-in, according to investigators.

The prosecution argued that Kathleen Foley attempted to fake a robbery by leaving the front door open, placing a money clip on the bedroom floor, placing obstacles in front of a cabinet where Joe Foley kept his gun, and covering him with bedding.

The defence argued the coroner’s office was “incompetent” for not taking a temperature of the body to estimate time of death, and questioned whether investigators could determine time of death precisely to disprove the defence story.

Quotes during trial

Judge Alan M. Black asked:

“Kathleen Foley, anything you wish to say at this time?”

Kathleen Foley answered:

“No, sir,”

About legal proceedings and her position, Foley’s defence lawyer Brian Collins “said nothing on her behalf.”

After being told her appeal rights, Kathleen Foley was escorted from the courtroom by deputy sheriffs.

Kathleen Foley’s testimony

Kathleen Foley testified for 6 hours.

The record described that under questioning by her lawyer Brian Collins she answered:

• “Absolutely not,” to whether she killed Joe Foley.
• “No, I was not,” to whether she was involved in the killing.
• “No, I did not,” to whether she had someone kill Joe Foley.

The record included Foley’s statements:

“Joe was my life,
I loved Joe. I liked what we had together.It was what I always thought a marriage should be.”

Prosecutor Michael McIntyre claimed Foley downplayed her relationship with George Fleming, referred to as an “obsession,” and described that Foley lied about the quality of her marriage.

The record also included verbatim questions and answers during the trial:

• Collins asked:

  “Kathleen, did you have someone kill Joe Foley?” Foley answered: “No, I did not,”

• McIntyre asked about whether she risked getting pregnant; Foley answered:

  “I didn't think I was,”

• When asked about the grieving period, Foley replied:

  “I believe I still am”

• In response to a question about whether, after Joe was out of the way, there was “a little love nest” at home, Foley answered:

  “Yeah,”

• When asked “'Cause Joe was out of the way?,” Foley answered:

  “I don't think it's fair to say that,”

• In response to whether it was risky to bring her lover to her home so soon after Joe Foley’s death, Foley responded:

  “Again,
  I didn't shoot my husband, so, no, I did not.”

Taped statement and 911

The record described that on July 31, 1998, Kathleen Foley gave a taped statement to state police investigator Cpl. Joseph Vazquez, describing waking at 6 a.m., attempting to wake Joe Foley, noticing discolored skin, calling 911, and describing the front door as ajar.

The record also described her 911 call timing and scene description: Joe Foley was covered with a comforter and pillow in their bed; his shorts were on backwards and not pulled up all the way.

While jurors were deliberating, they asked for a transcript of the 911 call.

Sentencing

Kathleen Foley was sentenced to life in prison on October 2, 2000.

A mandatory life sentence was described.

Judge Alan M. Black informed her of appeal rights.

Verdict and outcome

A Lehigh County jury convicted Kathleen Foley of first-degree murder for shooting her husband, Joe Foley, in their Fountain Hill home.

The verdict was reached after 3 hours of deliberation and a 13-day trial.

The record described a jury poll where each juror repeated “Guilty.”

Aftermath and reactions

Family members of Joe Foley spoke in court and expressed grief, anger, guilt, helplessness, and confusion.

They stated they would not call Kathleen Foley by her married name and would refer to her by her maiden name, Kathleen Zimmerman.

Verbatim quotations from family members

Joan Foley wrote:

“How do I teach them the world is a beautiful place” where they can be safe?

Marikay Wrabel said:

“A piece of us has died with himand is irreplaceable,”

Marikay Wrabel continued:

“A link in our chain of life has been permanently destroyed. For the past 26 months, our lives have been a living hell.”

In describing life after the conviction, Wrabel said:

“Welcome home to a place you created by your own actions, selfishness and greed.”

Jean Foley Gray said:

“And for this, I will never forgive her,”

Michael McIntyre said after the trial:

“If I'm upset about anything, it's that she had 15 months of freedom after killing her husband,”

Marikay Wrabel also said:

“We're happy with the verdict, but it's not really justice for Joe because the only justice for Joe is if Kathleen can change places with Joeand he could be back here with us,”

Other details

• The record described that Joe Foley was involved in civic activities, social clubs, Irish organizations, and Project Children, an organization described as bringing Protestant and Catholic children from Northern Ireland to the United States to promote social unity.
• The record described that Kathleen Foley maintained in the three-week trial that she didn’t kill her husband.
• Prosecutors argued the motive included an affair with George Fleming, fears about losing him, and anger at Joe Foley’s controlling nature.
• The record described that Kathleen Foley continued the affair after Joe Foley’s death and tried to convince police that an unknown intruder entered their home and shot her husband while she was sleeping elsewhere.
• The record stated that neighbors saw Fleming at the Foleys’ Moravia Street home weeks after Joe Foley’s death.
• The record described that Foley was described as not acting like a grieving widow at the funeral and gravesite and as smug during the trial, according to family members.
• The record described that Kathleen Foley’s lover, George Fleming, testified that he did not kill Joe Foley and denied having knowledge about who killed him, and at times answered “I don't recall.”
• The record described that prosecutors theorized that Joe Foley bought a handgun so his wife would have protection while visiting Ireland, at union meetings, or involved in other activities.
• The record described that Foley and Fleming had sex whenever and wherever possible, including at the state hospital where they worked, according to Fleming’s testimony as presented in the trial narrative.