Police have charged a Reserve Township woman with delivering the bone-breaking punch that caused her 73-year-old mother’s death, just days after the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office declared the death a homicide.
Krystal Slepski, 43, punched Patricia Kachinko in the chest during an argument at her Troy Hill home on June 2, according to a criminal complaint. Kachinko was a tiny woman who suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and needed an oxygen tank to breathe.
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Kachinko, who had hard breathing during the attack, was taken to Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh for evaluation.
She died 22 days later.
An autopsy revealed that Kachinko’s sternum was cracked between her fourth and fifth ribs.
Slepski has been jailed without bond at Allegheny County Jail since June 3, when she was charged with simple assault.
Over the weekend, Pittsburgh police added two charges to Slepski’s court case. One was robbery, the other homicide.
Slepski appeared in a Pittsburgh courtroom on Tuesday afternoon. A district judge once again denied her bail.
“No conditions can ensure community safety,” District Judge Jehosha Wright stated in court documents.
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office determined that Kachinko died from respiratory difficulties induced by blunt force trauma to the chest. Her death was declared a homicide last week.
On Tuesday, Kachinko’s family declined to comment on the new charges.
The incident
Last week, authorities gave few details concerning Kachinko’s death.
Police were originally reluctant to declare whether the assault on Kachinko and her death on June 24 were connected. The Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office has declined to comment.
According to the criminal complaint, Pittsburgh police were first summoned to Kachinko’s residence at 1804 Ley St. around 6:15 p.m. on June 2.
Slepski was bickering with her partner, according to the lawsuit. Kachinko contacted the cops after Slepski hit the boyfriend in the face.
After police left without filing charges, Slepski “accused Kachinko of calling the police on her and began harassing her,” according to the complaint.
During their fight, a third person, only known as Witness 1 in court documents, contacted Kachinko to check on her.
Call 911, Kachinko instructed the witness, according to the lawsuit.
“There was, like, no calming her down,” Kachinko said in the complaint.
Police stated Slepski then took Kachinko’s phone and hung up. The witness attempted to phone back several times—unsuccessfully. Then the witness dialed 911.
According to the lawsuit, Kachinko’s quarrel with her daughter quickly escalated into physical violence. Slepski punched her mother in the chest with a closed hand.
Police returned to the home the next day and charged Slepski with one misdemeanor count of simple assault.
Slepski was denied bail for the second time on June 24, the day her mother died. She remained in the Downtown jail on Tuesday. Her attorney’s name is not listed in court records.
Slepski was charged with robbery over the weekend because she hurt her mother “in the course of committing a theft,” according to the complaint, which did not elaborate.
Police in Pittsburgh did not reply to phone calls or text messages seeking comment on Tuesday.
Kachinko was one of 11 homicide victims in Allegheny County in June, with two dying in Pittsburgh, according to records.
Suspect’s previous charges, eviction
Kelly Balint, Kachinko’s daughter, previously told TribLive that she did not want to discuss her mother’s murder or the claims against her elder sister.
“I was very close with my mom—we spoke by phone every day,” said Balint, 36, whose Reserve house is only a five-minute drive from her mother’s Troy Hill home.
Kachinko and her 43-year-old husband, Albert, grew up and reared their two daughters in Pittsburgh’s North Side, according to Balint. The family came to Troy Hill around 25 years ago.
Recent court filings show some of the recent upheaval in Slepski’s life.
In December 2023, a creditor sued her over $2,100 in credit card debt. The matter was settled in January.
Reserve filed a lien against Slepski’s home in January 2024, according to court records. Officials stated she owed almost $3,500 in outstanding water and sewer bills.
According to court records, U.S. Bank accused Slepski of failing to pay her Reserve mortgage in late 2023. Within seven months, she owed the bank around $50,000.
According to court records, the bank later foreclosed on the loan and gained possession of the home through a sheriff’s sale.
Slepski was evicted on the same day that she reportedly beat her mother.
Slepski had already been charged with an alleged assault.
In May, Pittsburgh police charged Slepski with a misdemeanor count of simple assault. Slepski and her boyfriend were involved in what police described as “a physical argument.”
Slepski was brought to Allegheny County Jail and eventually released on non-monetary bail.
District Judge Xander Orenstein dismissed the case last month.
