Prosecutors say she paid man to hire someone to kill abusive boyfriend, but shot him herself
By Mary E. Young
Reading Eagle
A 52-year-old Birdsboro woman was charged Tuesday with criminal homicide and criminal solicitation in the Oct. 17, 2003, shooting death of her boyfriend.
Barbara J. Houghtby of the 500 block of East Sixth Street initially claimed she had been beaten and that Rodney L. Martz Jr., 37, had been killed by two unidentified men during a home-invasion robbery.
Houghtby shot Martz in the head five times at close range, investigators said.
District Attorney John T. Adams refused to speculate on a motive.
Court records show Houghtby obtained a protection-from-abuse order against Martz in March 2001 after he beat her twice, threatened to run her off the road and threatened to kill her, her two sons and her parents.
Birdsboro police found Martz in the driveway of the house May 25, 2001, and arrested him for violating the order.
Houghtby withdrew the protection order the following week.
She is charged with criminal solicitation for paying a 50-year-old man from Williamstown, Dauphin County, $2,500 to hire someone to kill Martz. The Reading Eagle is withholding the man's name.
Adams refused to say if the Dauphin man will be charged.
According to authorities:
During the initial investigation, Houghtby told state police, who investigated at the request of Birdsboro police, that she was letting her dogs out when a man grabbed her from behind, pulled her hair and put a gun to her head.
She told police a second man went inside and shot Martz during a robbery. When the gunman returned, Houghtby said, she stomped on the first man's foot. He punched her in the face and stomach before both ran away.
Trooper Thomas Weaver questioned Houghtby's version of the events because her injuries were on the left side of her face but should have been on the right side under the scenario she described.
He took the evidence to a county investigative grand jury, which recommended charges be filed against Houghtby.
In her April grand jury testimony, Houghtby admitted she knew the Williamstown man and said she gave him $2,000 to protect her from Martz.
The Williamstown man testified that Houghtby knew he had been affiliated with a motorcycle gang. He said she told him she wanted something more permanent than his offer to break Martz's legs.
He said she gave him $2,500 as a down payment toward the $5,000 needed to hire someone to kill Martz. He said the person he had in mind was dead, so he kept the money.
Other witnesses testified that Houghtby told them she didn't want to be hurt anymore and that she wanted out of the relationship.
Adams said the investigation is continuing and asked anyone who has information about the case to contact state police.
He said the charges are another example of the grand jury's value in investigating violent crime.
"We won't rest until we can bring justice to the victims of violent crime," he said.
Houghtby was committed to the county prison without bail following arraignment before District Judge David E. Glass.
Contact Mary Young: 610-478-6292 or myoung@readingeagle.com.
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