HUB shooting trial still on hold

Although yesterday marked the 18-month anniversary of a shooting that resulted in the death of one University student, the person charged with the shooting, Jillian Robbins, has not yet gone to trial.

"I feel confident the case will come to trial before the end of the year," Gricar said, "but it's hard to guess which month it will be in."

Robbins, then 19, was charged with one count of first-degree murder, one count of third-degree murder, five counts of attempted murder and five counts of aggravated assault for the Sept. 17, 1996, shooting on the HUB Lawn. Gricar is seeking the death penalty.

"The Commonwealth (of Pennsylvania) hates to be in a situation when a case takes so long to bring to trial," Gricar said, "but there's simply nothing else to be done to speed things up."

Robbins has since been released from the hospital and is currently in Clinton County Prison. Centre County does not have a facility for female inmates, said Deborah Lux, first assistant to the public defender.

After the defense completes a review process consisting of records of Robbins' past evaluations and history, the prosecution will appoint a doctor to review Robbins past, Gricar said.

Once the review process is completed, the court will schedule various pretrial motions, Gricar said.

"There hasn't been any court hearing on the case since preliminary hearings," Gricar said, which took place Sept. 26, 1996.

One bullet resulted in the death of 21-year-old University student Melanie Spalla of Altoona while another hit and wounded 23-year-old student Nicholas Mensah of Philadelphia.