Pre-Trial Hearings Continue For Morris County Teacher Accused Of Shooting Ex-Boyfriend

With a trial date expected for sometime in October, pre-trial hearings continued Monday in the case of Virginia Vertetis, 54, a former fourth grade teacher in the Wharton School District, who has been indicted on murder charges as a result of the March 2014 shooting death of her ex-boyfriend and retired NYC police officer, Patrick Gillhuley, 51.

The hearing, presided over by Judge Stephen Taylor, was spent trying to determine whether Vertetis' statements to police over the course of her 13-hour interrogation could be used in the case, according to a report by NJ.com.

While Vertetis initially stated that she had shot an intruder breaking into her house during her March 3, 2014 911 call, she now claims she shot Gillhuley in self-defense as a result of what she says was constant physical abuse from him.

According to her attorney, Edward Bilinkas, the reason Vertetis initially told police she shot an intruder was because she was concerned police would favor the former policer officer, Gillhuley.

Nevertheless, Bilinkas is trying to prevent Vertetis' statements to police from being used in the trial. He contends they weren't voluntary, citing Detective Matthew Potter intentionally withholding the death of Gillhuley during interrogation as a means of extracting relevant information from Vertetis, who continued to inquire about the well-being of her ex-boyfriend while being questioned.

Judge Taylor will make a decision on whether the statements can be used in the next couple of weeks, with the next hearing date set for Aug. 15.

Back in January, Taylor permitted the use of Vertetis' employment, medical, and psychiatric records in order to better understand her state of mind at the time of the shooting. Judge Taylor contended this was vital to the case given the claims of self-defense Vertitis has made.

In the meantime, Vertitis remains lodged at the Morris County Correctional Facility as the case continues to move towards trial in the Fall.

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