Korbe

Christina Korbe has "total remorse," for firing the shot that killed FBI Special Agent Samuel Hicks last month.

"She is more sorry for the agent's family than for herself," said defense attorney John Elash.

But, he also said that doesn't mean the Indiana Township woman is guilty of a crime.

"There are times when justified actions occur, and people die."

Mr. Elash was speaking outside the federal courthouse yesterday following Mrs. Korbe's brief appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert C. Mitchell.

Dressed in a burgundy jail jumpsuit, with her hair pulled into a side ponytail, Mrs. Korbe, 40, vigorously shook her head the entire time Judge Mitchell read the charges against her.

She is charged with second-degree murder; assault on a federal officer with the use of a concealed weapon; using a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence; and aiding a felon to possess a firearm.

A general charge of criminal homicide was filed against Mrs. Korbe in state court the day of the shooting, but now that federal charges are pending, that will be dismissed.

Agent Hicks was the first person to enter the house at 111 Woods Run Road about 6 a.m. on Nov. 19 as part of a team there to serve a federal arrest warrant on Mrs. Korbe's husband, Robert Korbe, as part of a 27-count drug indictment.

Mrs. Korbe has said that she believed someone was breaking into her home and that she did not know that it was law enforcement at the door. According to an affidavit filed in the case Monday, Mrs. Korbe told police that she hid out of sight upstairs and fired one shot blindly down toward the front door. That shot hit Agent Hicks.

Yesterday, Mr. Elash said his client was trying to protect her children, ages 5 and 10, from what she thought were intruders.

"I don't believe my client is guilty of a crime, and I think the evidence will show that," he said.

Mr. Elash believes the trial will be daunting -- especially because of the number of charges now filed against Mrs. Korbe -- but he said he thinks that they can win.

There will be a detention hearing for Mrs. Korbe on Monday morning. Prosecutors have asked that she be held pending trial because they believe Mrs. Korbe poses a danger to the community and is a flight risk.

Mr. Elash disagreed and said that a report by pre-trial services shows that there is no reason why she should not be released.

Mrs. Korbe has no criminal record and did have a permit to have a handgun, he continued.

"If you look at her record; if you look at her lifestyle; if you look at her family, there's no reason she can't be out on bail," he said.