Fundraiser for Peters hammer attack victim raises more than $130,000
A fundraiser for the victim of a violent assault in Peters Township over the weekend has raised more than $130,000.
Donations have been pouring in for medical expenses for Jennifer Pardini on fundraising website GiveSendGo. Pardini, 26, of Peters Township, was attacked with a hammer July 8. Her ex-boyfriend has been jailed without bond in connection with the assault.
Pardini suffered a traumatic brain injury, broken jaw and skull fracture. She is being treated at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh.
“Her family is grateful she is still alive, but she is in intensive care, and the extent of her brain injury and the challenges of multiple surgeries are not yet clear. What is clear is the long and difficult road to hopeful recovery, and the mountain of health care bills she will be facing,” reads the description of the online fundraiser.
Arrested for the crime was William Oberschelp, 28, of Peters Township. Oberschelp is being held in the Washington County jail without bond on several charges, including attempted homicide.
Police arrived at Pardini’s home in the 400 block of Thompsonville Road at about 1:45 a.m. Saturday after her father found her lying on the garage floor.
“We just are absolutely devastated beyond belief,” said Laurie Brain, owner of Fireside Beauty Bar in Peters, where Pardini worked as an esthetician. “She was one of the ones that helped put our company together,” Brain said. “It couldn’t have been where it is without her.”
Brain said she was at home when she received word of the assault.
“I heard she got hit with a hammer; I thought it must have fallen off the wall,” Brain said. “Pure, 100% devastation. It couldn’t have happened to a nicer, sweeter person. Anybody that knows Jen, knows that Jen is an angel.”
Brain added that they intend to hold a fundraising event at Fireside Beauty Bar.
Peters Township police arrested Oberschelp at a Bethel Park apartment complex. According to the criminal complaint, Obserschelp told investigators that he took an Uber to her home and entered through the garage.
He went to Pardini’s room and woke her up, court documents state. Oberschelp told police they went outside and began arguing, and he allegedly confessed to assaulting the woman with a hammer.
Pardini’s father told police that she had moved back home about 10 days prior to the assault after breaking up with Oberschelp.
Peters Township posted to Facebook Tuesday requesting public assistance in their investigation into the assault. They are asking for residents and businesses to check security cameras for suspicious activity between 1:30 and 3:30 a.m. July 8.
Oberschelp is also accused of stealing Pardini’s cellphone, which police are still trying to locate. Anyone with information is asked to call Peters police at 724-942-5030.
Oberschelp is scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing at 9:30 a.m. Aug. 10.