Facing her son’s accused killer for the first time since the night of his shooting, Veronica Arrington was overcome with emotion in a suburban Pittsburgh courtroom this week.
Darell Love, 16, was remembered as an affable kid, well-liked by everyone in his Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, community, with dreams of becoming a welder. Family meant everything to him, according to one tribute, and he was excited about spending the holidays with relatives. He died one week before Christmas.
Arrington testified Thursday in a preliminary hearing that she heard a gunshot before seeing Eric Krassman Jr., Darell’s longtime friend, also 16, running down the stairs. He dropped a gun as he passed her. She would then see her son, holding his face, blood streaming through his fingers.
It was the last time Arrington saw her son alive. He was rushed by medics to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
“My heart goes out to them,” Beaver County District Attorney Nate Bible told Channel 11. “Everybody is somebody’s child, but this was a 16-year-old.”
What led to Krassman allegedly shooting his friend remains a mystery. He remained silent during the preliminary hearing. His defense attorneys said little. The teen remains behind bars, charged with first-degree murder, third-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter. He is also charged with two counts of firearm possession.
Love was on FaceTime with his girlfriend when the shooting occurred. She testified she saw Krassman enter the room quietly. There was no sign of a struggle or argument, she testified, before hearing the gunshot. She said she saw Love bleeding and watched as Krassman ran from the room.
Bible told WPXI there was no sign the shooting could have been accidental. Krassman had two stolen firearms in his possession at the time of the shooting.
“That’s something my detectives immediately looked into,” he said. “The firearm used in this case had two safeties — one near the chamber and another on the trigger. The first safety was off, and the trigger safety requires pressure. Anytime a loaded firearm with the safety off is pointed at someone’s head and fired, my initial reaction is that this was not an accident.”
Krassman now faces a decertification hearing, where his attorneys will argue that he should be tried as a juvenile. The state will seek to try the teen as an adult.
“The outcome makes a big difference based on the penalties he could face,” Bible said.
However, many in the community are calling for the case to remain in adult court.
“He should be tried as an adult. He’s proved he would offend again and again. What’s another time after he’s released? Just another senseless crime with another family destroyed and ripped apart. Great job, glad he’s apprehended!” one person wrote.
Now if the judicial system does the right thing. Charge him as an adult and give him the max allowed by law. Not as a juvenile and set him free in a few years. And whoever hid him give them the max,” another person wrote.
While no evidence has been introduced as to motive, on Facebook shortly after the shooting, Arrington posited her theory.
“We got you baby like this sh-t will never feel right but I still need to know why jealousy is a mfker my baby was better then you in every way … he did not deserve this,” she wrote.
Love’s sister called Darell “the sweetest soul you would ever meet, always smiling and so respectful.”
“He definitely knew how to make a room light up with his jokes or his laugh,” she said. He loved everyone and was loved by everyone.”
