Just Hours After Wedding, Argument Between Bride and Her Niece Ends in Worst Way Possible

Story by the Associated Press; curated by Dave Urbanski

NEW BRIGHTON, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania bride fatally shot her niece with her new husband's handgun during an argument over who would be the designated driver after their Thursday wedding party, police said.

Christina George-Harvan (Image source: WTAE-TV)

Police said 30-year-old Christina George-Harvan, of Conway, shot 21-year-old Katelyn "Kaytee" Francis of Fairmont, W.Va., around 10 p.m. in the parking lot of a bar in in New Brighton, about 30 miles north of Pittsburgh.

Their wedding was held earlier in the day.

"It's a shame it happened, but I believe alcohol was a major factor in this," said New Brighton Police Chief Charles Van Fossan told WTAE-TV in Pittsburgh.

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Police said they were called to Jimmy K's Bar & Grille on 11th Avenue for reports of a gunshot in the parking lot around 10 p.m., and they found Katelyn Francis on the ground with a gunshot wound to her stomach. The 21-year-old West Virginia woman was flown to UPMC Presbyterian, where she later died.

Police arrested George-Harvan and her new husband, Jeremy Harvan.

"We believe all three were arguing over who was going to be the designated driver," Van Fossan said told WTAE.

George-Harvan, a registered nurse, is being held in the county jail without bond. No attorney was listed on court papers.

"Everybody in the bar noticed that there was something going on with the people, but nobody knew exactly what was happening," witness James Botinovich told TV station KDKA. "The next thing you know we heard someone got shot."

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 2.