SMETHPORT — Bradford man Anthony Fenton has been convicted of third-degree murder for the May 2021 beating death of his girlfriend, Tammy Prosser, in a Main Street apartment in Bradford.
Fenton, 39, was found guilty of homicide, aggravated assault, simple assault and recklessly endangering another person following a five-day jury trial in McKean County Court, said District Attorney Stephanie Vettenburg-Shaffer.
Sentencing has been set for 1 p.m. Aug. 12, at which time he will face at least 20 years in prison. The sentencing guidelines for third-degree murder is 20 to 40 years incarceration, Shaffer said.
On May 10, 2021, City of Bradford Police and paramedics were dispatched on a report of an unresponsive female at an apartment above a storefront on Main Street. Upon arrival, they found Prosser unresponsive, and noticed severe swelling to her head and neck, as well as significant bruising on her upper right chest. Fenton told first responders that Prosser had fallen down the stairs from their second-floor apartment the night before, and had ruptured a tumor on the side of her head.
The paramedics were able to stabilize Prosser and took her to Bradford Regional Medical Center, but she never regained consciousness. Because it appeared she may have been the victim of an assault, police asked for the services of a forensic nurse at BRMC to collect evidence such as swabs from apparent bite marks on Prosser and to take photographs.
The forensic nurse and an emergency room nurse were both called to testify at trial, Shaffer said. Prosser had been taken to Erie County Medical Center in Buffalo, N.Y., where she died on May 11, 2021.
At the time of the incident, Officer Jason Putt, now retired, and Chief Michael Ward as well as other officers interviewed witnesses and obtained video surveillance from businesses in the area. Chief County Detective Ryan Yingling was also called to the scene on behalf of the District Attorney’s Office to assist in the investigation. Yingling and Ward interviewed Fenton at the City of Bradford Police Station.
Fenton reiterated that the injuries were caused when Prosser fell from the top of a staircase down to the bottom — a series of 11 steps, a landing, and 12 more steps. He told the officers that, after she fell, the bruising and swelling was instantaneous and impacted her motor skills causing her to stagger. He claimed they were on their way to Tops to buy beer when she fell and, after she fell, he had to help her up at the bottom of the stairs and she still wanted to go to Tops.
The cashier working at Tops remembered waiting on Prosser when she bought a 15 pack of beer, and said she did not appear to have any injuries, was walking fine, and they exchanged pleasantries as he waited on her, Shaffer recounted. Fenton told Yingling and Ward that, after they went to Tops, he had to help Prosser up the steps of their apartment building.
A review of the camera footage — which was played for the jury at trial — disputed Fenton’s account, Shaffer said.
Fenton said that despite the condition Prosser was in, when they returned from Tops, Prosser wanted to have “rough sex.” That, he said, was why her body showed bite marks. Fenton told police he believed neighbors would have thought they had a fight because he talks loud and wears boots in his house and is loud when he walks.
Putt secured the boots through a search warrant. Putt, Ward, Yingling and 20 other witnesses testified at trial. Dr. Katherine Maloney, the pathologist who performed the autopsy on Prosser, said “there were multiple impacts of trauma on the body made with an implement,” Shaffer said.
Dr. Andrew Rentschler, a biomechanist who has worked with the military and National Hockey League making safety modifications, performed an experiment on stair falls. He testified that it was not possible for Prosser to fall from the top of the stairs, across the landing and down the remainder of the stairs and, further, her injuries were entirely inconsistent with a stair fall. The injuries on her were inflicted with something with a hard edge, which could have been footwear.
In fact, many of the witnesses testified that patterns seen within the bruising on Prosser looked like “lines and arrows,” like a shoe print.
Shaffer said a DNA expert testified that Fenton’s DNA was on the bite marks, under Prosser’s nails, and on her clothes, and her DNA was on the toe of his boot.
“The verdict in this case brings Tammy’s family one step closer to being able to mourn the loss of their daughter without the legal process hanging over them,” Shaffer said. “Tammy was the victim of domestic violence who suffered prior threats and assaults from the defendant. The horrible assault she suffered on May 10th, 2021 weighs on the minds and hearts of everyone involved in this case — our paramedics, medical professionals, police, and me.”
She commended the first responders, medical professionals and law enforcement.
“The community does not get to see the expert services we have locally,” Shaffer said. “I can attest to this and I thank them for their work. The paramedics worked on Tammy for about a half hour and were able to transport her to the hospital which was her best chance at survival. And when she did not survive, the expert police work — both in the investigation by Officer Putt and in the interview of the defendant by Chief Ward and Chief Yingling — uncovered the actions that led to her death.”
Shaffer explained what a conviction of third-degree murder means.
“In a case like this, the Commonwealth charges criminal homicide and the jury determines which type of homicide fits the facts from different types of murder and manslaughter,” she said. “In this case, the jury found that the defendant committed murder in the 3rd degree, which is murder with malice but not with premeditation.”
Shaffer prosecuted the case on behalf of the Commonwealth.
Senior Judge Thomas Kistler of Centre County presided over the trial. Fenton was represented by Public Defender Phil Clabaugh.
If you are the victim of domestic violence, call the YWCA in Bradford at 888-822-6325 to see what services are available to help.
