Woman Claims Self-Defense in Agent's Murder

PITTSBURGH --

The case against a woman who killed a Pittsburgh FBI agent during a drug raid at her family's home has been moved to federal court, where her defense will claim that she thought she needed to act in self-defense.

Christina Korbe made her first appearance Tuesday before Magistrate Judge Robert Mitchell on a second-degree murder charge and several firearms charges. A detention hearing -- when the judge will decide if she gets bail -- is set for 10 a.m. Monday in U.S. District Court downtown.

"She's totally distraught," defense attorney John Elash said. "All she cares about and all she mentions is she wants to be home with her children. Can't imagine that she won't be home for Christmas."

U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan was in the courtroom Tuesday as an observer -- which is a rare occurrence -- and declined to comment afterward. Also present were an FBI official and Allegheny County police Superintendent Charles Moffatt.

Elash said Korbe is "extremely remorseful" about the death of Special Agent Sam Hicks, but he questions whether she heard law enforcement identify themselves when they entered her house with guns drawn.

"I don't believe my client's guilty of any crime. I think the evidence will show that," Elash said. "... It's obviously a self-defense or a defense of others, and the others that she's defending are a 5- and 10-year old that were with her when she was on 911, making the call to the police that somebody had broken into her house."

Hicks was part of a task force serving drug warrants in a coordinated operation throughout the Pittsburgh region on the morning of Nov. 19. He was shot at Korbe's home on Woods Run Road in Indiana Township, where a warrant was being served on her husband, Robert.

The maximum penalty for a jury conviction on Christina Korbe's charges is life in prison.

"I think it's a tragedy. It's a tragedy for everybody involved -- for my client, for her family, for the victim and his family," Elash said.

Christina Korbe's former attorney, Sumner Parker, has said that the woman fired a gun because she thought people were breaking into the house. Parker is defending Robert Korbe on his drug charges.

"Was this, something, everybody's yelling at one time, so that nobody could understand what's being said?" Elash said. "Could it have been heard by somebody that was asleep or just woken in an upstairs bedroom in a large home? If, in fact, she did hear it was a police officer or an FBI agent, why would she fire one shot at one of them and not continue to fire?"

In Sharpsburg, residents are circulating a petition for Christina Korbe's innocence and holding a collection for the family's children. Some do not believe the woman knew it was law enforcement breaking through her front door.

"I honestly believe that she couldn't possibly have known that it was a cop," friend Angie McCarrison said. "I think she heard glass break, and she thought, 'Oh my God, my kids,' and that was the end of that."

Court documents say that the FBI agents shouted "police" and warned that they were serving a warrant, and that Robert Korbe told investigators he heard the agents and knew a raid was happening.

The FBI has said that the agents and police officers clearly identified themselves and announced their presence when they broke into the house.

"She thought she was being attacked, thought that she had to defend her children," Elash said. "That is what was going through her mind. Only pulled that trigger for one reason, because she thought she was going to get killed or that her children were going to get killed or seriously injured."

Christina Korbe is being held without bail, as is Robert Korbe, who's one of about 35 people charged in a federal drug indictment.

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