Butler police are eager to question Shari Donnel, who could provide investigators with crucial clues about the gunman who shot her last month.

But for now, they can only wait.

Since she was hit with a shotgun blast June 30 in the bedroom of her Miller Avenue home, the 49-year-old Donnel has been unable to tell police what she knows.

She remains tethered to a ventilator at a Pittsburgh hospital, according to family.

Enduring surgeries to repair wounds from shotgun pellets to her chest and stomach area, she still is in critical but stable condition.

While her parents, Robert and Judith Donnel, maintain a daily bedside vigil, she has not spoken with loved ones either, said sister-in-law LeaAnn Donnel of Center Township.

“We're all still in shock over this thing,” LeaAnn Donnel said Wednesday. “It's absolutely horrible. No one should have to go through this. It's a parent's worst nightmare.”

Police said Donnel was shot during the early morning and left fighting for her life in the three-story house where she grew up. She lives alone in the home that she bought from her parents in 2010.

Despite her injuries and massive blood loss, she managed to call 911 about 4:45 a.m. Butler Fire Department and Butler Ambulance Service paramedics got there first and immediately tended to her.

Medical crews determined Donnel had suffered “serious abdominal injuries,” investigators said, but she “did not know how they occurred.”

Her deteriorating condition prevented police from talking to her. She was flown by medical helicopter to Allegheny General Hospital.

More than 10 days later, police have made headway in their investigation. They've ruled out burglary and robbery as motives. And this certainly was no drug crime.

They've collected evidence of the crime, classified as an attempted homicide, and conducted numerous interviews.

A potential suspect, Donnel's married boyfriend, has been questioned. But he has since lawyered up.

Police Capt. David Dalcamo isn't saying much. He would not disclose what course the investigation is heading but emphasized that all lines of inquiry are being followed.

He acknowledged that Donnel is the key witness.

“We're anxious to speak to her,” he said, “when she is medically able.”

Three search warrants that police got the day of the shooting revealed that investigators encountered a bloody crime scene on the first and second floors of Donnel's house. They found shotgun wadding and a shotgun pellet in her bed. But no guns.

Police collected blood and other trace evidence, the bed comforter and two cell phones that Donnel owned. A quick search of one phone provided investigators with a lead, the identity of Donnel's 45-year-old boyfriend.

The Butler Eagle is not naming him because police have refused to confirm he is a suspect or the more generic person of interest.

Dalcamo refused to say if police have any suspects at all.

Donnel's boyfriend on June 30 arrived at work at the Giant Eagle store in Butler Township just three miles away at 5 a.m. — 15 minutes or so after Donnel made her 911 call for help.

Police spoke to him at work and became suspicious of his behavior.

He agreed to accompany investigators to the police station for an interview, during which he disclosed that he and Donnel “were dating,” documents said. His wife was unaware of that relationship, he said.

He also acknowledged that he owned two shotguns.

Police at 10 a.m. got a search warrant for the man's car, which he had driven to work. The warrant application showed that police wanted to comb the vehicle for any guns, ammunition, bloody clothing or cell phones.

But that search yielded no evidence, documents showed.

At 2:50 p.m., police got another search warrant that allowed them to examine Donnel's boyfriend and his clothing for any trace of gunshot residue.

The tests presumably will look for three elements — barium, lead and antimony. If the residue tests positive for all three and the particles have the correct shape, investigators will know he likely fired a weapon, held a weapon that had been recently fired or was near a weapon that was fired.

The man told police Sunday that he had last shot a gun two or three days earlier.

Police on Friday obtained a fourth warrant, this one to search the phone records of Donnel's boyfriend.

Specifically, investigators are interested in calls and text messages that he made and received, as well as corresponding cell phone tower logs, between midnight June 28 and 10 a.m. June 30, according to court documents.

Since his initial voluntary interview with police, Donnel's boyfriend has hired Butler attorney Al Lindsay and quit talking to investigators.

Phone calls to Lindsay were not returned.

Details about the investigation are hard to come by. Dalcamo would only say that police are awaiting the results of forensic testing of evidence collected.

Investigators apparently aren't disclosing much to Donnel's family either.

“They call for any medical updates,” LeaAnn Donnel said.

The family has no idea why anyone would shoot Donnel. She has no enemies, they say, and has always been one who keeps to herself and minds her own business.

“We're really hoping to find out who did this,” LeaAnn Donnel said. “We need to know.”