A Holmesburg man will face a judge after confessing to killing his wife with her own gun
Jose Luna told a Montgomery County detective he couldn't believe he killed his wife, saying she was everything he had, according to testimony Thursday.
By the time police caught up with Jose Luna, he felt as if he had lost everything, investigators in Montgomery County said Thursday. He put a .38 caliber revolver to his head and pulled the trigger as the officers confronted him.
But the gun was empty, and Luna, 58, was taken into custody, charged with killing his wife, Alisett Schubert, hours earlier as they drove through Rockledge on Feb. 21.
In the coming months, Luna, of Holmesburg, will face a Montgomery County judge on murder and related charges after being held for court Thursday by District Judge John Kessler.
During Luna’s preliminary hearing, his attorneys, Scott Frame and Joseph Schultz, argued that prosecutors had “tainted the jury pool” by sending out a press release saying Luna resided in the country illegally, and asked for the case to be dismissed. Luna is an American citizen, and prosecutors corrected the record during the hearing.
Kessler ruled that there was sufficient evidence, including Luna’s confession to the crime to a Montgomery County detective, to proceed with the case.
During that interview, Luna said he and Schubert, 48, had attended a family gathering earlier that evening, during which he felt she had “disrespected him,” according to Det. John Wittenberger. Luna slapped his wife of seven years, telling her he didn’t care if her family saw the dispute.
Later, as Schubert drove the two of them home, they continued to argue, Wittenberger said. Luna saw that his wife was holding her purse, and he knew she kept her .38 caliber revolver inside of it.
When Schubert stopped the car and told Luna to get out and walk home, the two began to fight over the bag, the detective said. Luna grabbed it, pulled out the gun and shot his wife once, he said.
As Schubert turned to get out of the car, Luna shot her four more times, Wittenberger said. He then fled the scene, pausing to throw away his hat and jewelry so he “wouldn’t be recognized,” he said.
Officers in Rockledge found Schubert on the ground, unresponsive. She was later pronounced dead at Jefferson Abington Hospital.
Meanwhile, Philadelphia Police arrested Luna about a mile away from the crime scene in Burholme. Thinking the gun still had one more bullet, Luna tried to shoot himself, according to the officers, but the gun was empty.
Luna later told Wittenberger he was despondent after the shooting, and couldn’t believe he had killed his wife, the detective said, adding that Luna told him she was “all he had.”
One of Schubert’s friends told police that Schubert had confided in her about previous “physical, mental, verbal and financial abuse” by him, according to the affidavit of probable cause for his arrest. The woman also said she had once seen Luna punch Schubert in the face.
Schubert’s loved ones crowded into Judge Kessler’s cramped courtroom during Thursday’s hearing, all wearing buttons with her picture on it.
They declined to comment afterward, saying they were still too shaken by her killing to speak about it.
Luna will be arraigned in Montgomery County Court on May 20.
