An Erie County jury acquitted parole agent Kevin Seelinger on every count in Marchello Woodard's death.

Not guilty on every count ends this prosecution. It is not a written finding that the shooting was justified in some other court, and it is not a civil judgment. GoErie reported Seelinger testified he fired so Woodard would not run him over. District Attorney Elizabeth Hirz asked the jury for first-degree murder because one shot hit Woodard in the back. The three outlets also do not share one clock for the deliberations.

GoErie reported that a jury in the Erie County Court of Common Pleas acquitted Pennsylvania state parole agent Kevin J. Seelinger of all charges in the fatal shooting of parolee Marchello D. Woodard during a compliance check in Erie. GoErie reported Judge John J. Trucilla had the verdict read at 12:18 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026, to a courtroom packed with about 80 spectators, after about eight hours and 15 minutes of deliberations over two days. Testimony began Oct. 5. Closing arguments were Oct. 13. Erie News Now reported the verdict came Wednesday after two days, and that jurors received the case shortly after 1 p.m. Tuesday, deliberated about five and a half hours, told Judge John Trucilla they were not unanimous, and came back Wednesday morning. TalkErie reported six hours Tuesday night and more time Wednesday morning. Five and a half hours is not six, and neither station printed GoErie's total of eight hours and 15 minutes.

GoErie reported Woodard, 43, was fatally shot in the 400 block of East 27th Street at about 9:45 p.m. on July 2, 2025, while he was in his car, which he had pulled up across the street from his girlfriend's house. The girlfriend is not named here. GoErie reported the defense argued self-defense, and that Seelinger testified he shot Woodard to keep from being run over while he hung onto the driver's side door with the window down. GoErie reported Hirz urged a first-degree murder conviction because one of the three shots Seelinger fired hit Woodard in the back and pierced his lungs and aorta, and that she cited Pennsylvania law allowing intent to be inferred from the intentional use of a deadly weapon on a vital part of the body. GoErie reported the other charges included third-degree murder and voluntary and involuntary manslaughter. Erie News Now reported that after deliberations resumed, jurors asked Trucilla for the legal definitions of aggravated assault and reckless endangerment and for an explanation of the justification defense. The questions show what the jury was working through. They do not, by themselves, list every count on the verdict slip. Erie News Now reported prosecutors argued the deadly force was not justified and the defense argued he acted lawfully. TalkErie reported jurors could have convicted on a lesser count and did not.

The charging papers and the trial testimony are not the same account of the car. GoErie reported on Dec. 22, 2025, that Seelinger, then 35, of Edinboro, had turned himself in to the Pennsylvania State Police and was arraigned Dec. 19 before Erie 5th Ward District Judge Paul Bizzarro on criminal homicide, aggravated assault, simple assault, harassment, and recklessly endangering another person, and that he was held without bail. YourErie reported the same age, town, surrender, and charge list on Dec. 19. GoErie reported the trooper's affidavit said agents first contacted Woodard in the 400 block, that the vehicle began to move as Seelinger spoke at the driver's window, and that Seelinger "then discharged 3 rounds from his department-issued Glock 45 9mm pistol striking the victim in the arm and torso, which resulted in the victim's death." GoErie reported the affidavit did not say Seelinger or the other parole agent was dragged, and did not say either agent was injured, although a state police news release had described dragging. The other agent is not named here. GoErie reported troopers learned of the shooting at 9:50 p.m. That is five minutes after the 9:45 p.m. time in GoErie's verdict story. One is a call. The other is the paper's time for the shots.

After the verdict, TalkErie published a statement from Hirz. "Our office respects the jury's verdict and the role of the jury in our justice system," it said. She wrote that the outcome may be deeply disappointing, "particularly given the tragic loss of life," and that "Violence, threats, or acts of retaliation are not acceptable responses to this verdict." She wrote, "No act of violence will bring Marchello back, heal the pain of a grieving family, or move our community closer to justice." Erie News Now reported Mayor Daria Devlin said, "To Marchello's family, I want to express my deepest sympathy. No verdict can bring him back, and I recognize that today's decision may bring renewed pain and frustration." Devlin also said, "This case has raised serious questions about the use of deadly force, accountability, and trust in law enforcement. Those questions matter, regardless of the outcome of a criminal trial." That mayor story calls Seelinger a former state parole agent. The Erie News Now verdict story, GoErie, and TalkErie call him a state parole agent and do not say former. The not-guilty verdicts close these counts. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.