Butler woman jailed for part in death
A Butler woman who pleaded guilty to helping hide the body of a Kittanning man after his throat was slashed during a drug deal gone wrong was sentenced Thursday to jail time, after the victim’s family delivered impassioned pleas for justice.
Family members of Gregory W. Bosko, 55, pleaded with Butler County President Judge Thomas Doerr to punish Tiffany Hilliard, 31, with the maximum sentence allowed by law.
Ultimately, Doerr sentenced Hilliard to 18 to 36 months imprisonment for felony robbery and abuse of a corpse to be served at Butler County Prison.
She pleaded guilty to those charges Aug. 9, in a deal with prosecutors, after initially being charged with felony robbery, robbery of a motor vehicle, theft, receiving stolen property, hindering apprehension, misdemeanor receiving stolen property, abuse of a corpse and conspiracy counts to all, related to Bosko’s killing.
In court Thursday Bosko’s brother, Daniel, told Doerr that his brother’s killing still “haunts” him.
“The loss of Greg has hurt us beyond words,” Daniel Bosko said. “It’s unbearable and inhumane ... there will be no more laughter. Opportunities to say ‘I love you, man’ (are) gone.”
He argued that, “my family believes that the defendant should receive a harsher punishment.”
Daniel Bosko said his brother was his last surviving sibling. A sister died about 15 years ago and his mother and father are also dead. His wife, he said, provided him a steady source of comfort since his brother’s killing.
The family recalled that Bosko allowed Hilliard to stay with him when she was homeless and needed help.
Police arrested Hilliard and Joshua K. Greaves, 34, of Mercer, Mercer County, in March of last year after police found them in the 300 block of West Wayne Street in a vehicle owned by Bosko. Police say they were called to investigate a report of the couple using drugs in the car.
Hilliard and Greaves quickly emerged as persons of interest in Bosko’s killing. His body was found in a wooded area along Redbud Road on April 1, 2017. County Coroner William Young III ruled Bosko’s death a homicide, saying his throat had been cut “multiple times.”
Police, in court documents, said Hilliard told investigators that Greaves killed Bosko during a drug deal in Lyndora, and that afterward she helped him hide the body.
County prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Greaves, who has been charged with criminal homicide and numerous other felonies in the case. His trial is scheduled to begin in early December.
On Thursday, Doerr gave Hilliard an opportunity to respond before he handed down a sentence. Almost immediately she began to cry as she turned around to face about a dozen family members of Bosko’s that attended the sentencing.
“There’s no words I could say to bring him back,” she said. “But, truly, I wish I could change things.”
She continued, “I’m truly, truly sorry. Greg was a good guy.”
