Bride guilty of shooting niece dead at wedding in US

A western Pennsylvania newlywed has been convicted of involuntary manslaughter and reckless endangerment in the shooting death of her niece hours after the ceremony.

Christina George of Patterson Township wept as her hands were cuffed behind her back after the judge revoked her bail, and her relatives and friends cried as she was led from the court-room to be held in the Beaver County jail, pending her sentence.

The 31-year-old was convicted by a jury on Friday in the April 24 death of 21-year-old Katelyn Francis of Fairmont, West Virginia. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

Police said George and her new husband emerged from Jimmy K’s Bar and Grille in New Brighton, about 50km north of Pittsburgh, when an argument broke out over who should drive home.

The defence said the handgun went off as George was trying to move it from her husband’s opened glove box to a deep centre console to put it in a safe place.

However, assistant district attorney Brittany Smith said the gun was in the console and George was removing it from there when it went off.

“When you pick up that gun, your mind should tell you you have a duty of care to the people around you,” Smith told jurors.