More than a year after the Easter Sunday mass shooting at an Airbnb on the North Side, Channel 11 has confirmed that a grand jury is hearing testimony and reviewing evidence in the case.
Ultimately, it could lead to a prosecution.
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Every day since the shooting, Bonnie McLain has waited for an update on the shooting that killed her great-nephew, Matthew Steffy-Ross.
You are now one step closer to getting answers.
“Whatever has brought it to this point, and whoever has brought it to this point, I’m grateful to them,” McLain told Channel 11.
Steffy-Ross and another teen were killed when hundreds of bullets flew inside the Airbnb on the North Side on Easter Sunday 2022.
Since then, no one has been charged.
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But all that could change, depending on what emerges from the grand jury investigation.
“They’re getting the details we haven’t heard of. Whether it’s the witnesses, the ballistics, the firearms used, et cetera,” said defense attorney and legal analyst Blaine Jones.
Also, prosecutors have the upper hand.
“The problem is that there are no defense attorneys questioning any of these witnesses. So, essentially, the prosecutor controls all the information that the grand jury will receive,” Jones added.
Channel 11 contacted District Attorney Stephen Zappala, who told us he has no comment.
However, the Democratic candidate in the DA race, Matt Dugan, said in part: “Justice is long overdue for the families of Jaiden Brown and Matthew Steffy-Ross. If the grand jury returns an indictment in this case, when I take office in January, my administration will hold those individuals accountable through a thorough and vigorous investigation.”
McLain hopes the result can provide you with the answers you’ve been longing for.
“I knew it was going to come one way or another. I always had faith that she was going to get there,” she said.
Prosecutors and investigators have not released anything about the grand jury, which is the protocol. We reached out to Pittsburgh police and Mayor Gainey’s office to ask if they had any comment, and never received a response.
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