Michael McCoy, 54, was left blind in one eye and, according to the New York Post, McKnight tried to convince him that he had shot himself while he was sleeping.
The two were living together and McCoy said that he had repeatedly tried to cut off the relationship. Police stated that McCoy came home from a bar and found McKnight relaxing on his couch in her pajamas. McCoy said that he repeated his desire that she leave his house and said that he was going to enlist the help of her mother. According to the report, McKnight then “agreed to go.”
McCoy said that he went to bed around 11:00 p.m. only to wake up later with “massive head pain” and unable to see. He said that McKnight came into the bedroom and asked, “Mike, what did you do to yourself?” McKnight then called police. She told police that she was sleeping on the couch when she heard him screaming.
For an alleged accidental shooting, the shot was remarkably well placed and should have been lethal. The bullet entered McCoy’s right temple and exited his left temple. He is still blinded in his right eye.
Police found a gun registered to McKnight and her hands tested positive for gunshot residue.
McKnight was also accused of lying about her movements. She told police that she did not leave the home but that is contradicted by a neighbor’s security camera. McCoy is reportedly suspicious that the judge may have followed him to the tavern.
McKnight is now suspended from the bench and being held at the Dauphin County Prison on a $300,000 bail. The arrest has brought new attention to the 2019 case.
Her former husband, Enoch McKnight, was shot in the groin after a history of domestic disputes and protective orders. He was helping McKnight move her furniture out of the home when he was shot. She had reportedly asked him to come over to help her. He claimed that she shot him and called him a “cheater.”
It is not clear from accounts of what her defense was in the earlier incident, but no charges were filed. Enoch McKnight had previously pleaded guilty to domestic violence.
Judge McKnight now faces up to 40 years in prison if convicted of a first-degree attempted murder charge.