Foster Township man pleads guilty to killing girlfriend, immediate sentence

Ed Lewis, The Times Leader, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
·2 min read

Apr. 29—WILKES-BARRE — A Foster Township man admitted Monday he fatally shot his girlfriend, Jessica Romano, during an argument inside their shared residence in January 2023.

Scott Andrew Oliver, 31, apologized for killing Romano, 35, during what Luzerne County Assistant District Attorney James L. McMonagle called a "senseless act of violence" involving a firearm.

"I apologize for my actions," Oliver said in his brief remarks before Judge Joseph F. Sklarosky Jr.

Sklarosky accepted the plea agreement reached between McMonagle and Oliver's attorney, Frank T. McCabe II, that involved Oliver pleading guilty to third-degree murder.

The plea agreement called for a state prison sentence of 17 years, six months to 40 years, which Sklarosky immediately imposed upon Oliver.

McCabe said Oliver had taken responsibility "from day one."

Investigators with the Pennsylvania State Police at Hazleton, Troop N, in court records alleged Oliver shot Romano inside 1290 Woodhaven Dr. on Jan. 3, 2023. Romano died at Lehigh Valley Hospital — Hazleton.

After the shooting, court records say, Oliver went to a neighbor's house who accompanied him back to 1290 Woodhaven Dr. Oliver fled the house when the neighbor called 911, and was apprehended nearly 16 hours after the shooting when found in a vacant house.

An autopsy by forensic pathologist Dr. Gary Ross revealed Romano died from a gunshot wound. Her death was listed as a homicide by the Luzerne County Coroner's Office.

During the court proceeding Monday, McMonagle and McCabe said a Ring doorbell recorded the argument, shooting and an emotional Oliver.

"He admitted from day one by taking responsibility. He told me on numerous occasions he loved her. This was way outside his normal behavior," McCabe said in court.

Romano's family was in the courtroom for Oliver's guilty plea and sentence.

Sklarosky said he was taken by the victim impact statements her family submitted, learning Romano had been adopted.

"Her loss is certainly tragic, another senseless act of violence," the judge noted.