From September 2025...I can't find a conclusion to this trial other than the hitman took a plea deal..maybe some of my US friends can help...How on earth has Dilbert not been charged yet
BEDFORD — A Duncansville woman on trial for arson-related charges told a jury that everyone who testified lied. Heather Ann Dibert, 45, took the stand in her own defense Wednesday, following two days of testimony from witnesses, including the victim, who said Dibert was controlling and...
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BEDFORD — A Duncansville woman on trial for arson-related charges told a jury that everyone who testified lied.
Heather Ann Dibert, 45, took the stand in her own defense Wednesday, following two days of testimony from witnesses, including the victim, who said Dibert was controlling and threatened her estranged wife on a number of occasions.
The trial is expected to wrap up this morning in Bedford County court.
Dibert, accused of hiring a Lewistown man to burn down a home occupied by her estranged wife and family, faces 40 charges filed in December 2023 after an extensive investigation into an October 2023 fire at a Tulls Hill Road home in Napier Township, Bedford County, where the female victim and her family lived.
On Tuesday, the jury heard from the victim, as well as Zachary A. Sellers, who faces charges for allegedly setting the fire. The attempt to burn down the woman’s home failed as a family member heard noises outside the home and the homeowner was able to extinguish the fire.
Taking the stand Tuesday, the woman said she was under constant surveillance not only by Dibert, but also by Dibert’s mother when Dibert wasn’t available.
The victim also testified that she was not allowed to contact her family, and Dibert threatened her children if she would leave.
Sellers testified that Dibert instructed him to kill the victim because she had stolen and killed Dibert’s dog. Sellers’ girlfriend, Jamie Beers, drove him to the victim’s house to start the fire while Dibert was on her way to the Lust Gentlemen’s Club and Steakhouse in West Virginia, Sellers told the jury.
State police Lt. Matthew Bonin took the stand Wednesday morning and showed the jury how law enforcement tracked Dibert’s and Sellers’ locations in October 2023 using data collected from surrounding cell towers.
There were a total of 35 contacts between Dibert and Sellers between Oct. 21, 2023, and Oct. 28, 2023. Of the 35 contacts, 31 occurred on Oct. 28, 2023, the day of the fire, Bonin said. Dibert’s phone plan was canceled that day.
Law enforcement was able to secure a warrant to search Dibert’s Google account, Bonin said, and that revealed multiple searches with questions including: “How long does it take to determine the cause of arson fire,” and “If you are in a house fire, do you have to go to the hospital?”
Bonin said another search asked: “If you are in a house fire and get burnt, do you have to go to the hospital?”
Bonin’s testimony also revealed that on Oct. 26, Dibert’s phone was in Lewistown near Sellers’ residence at 9:18 p.m., and that their two phones were later tracked at the Nittany Mini-Mart at 9:19 p.m.
The day before the fire, Dibert’s and Sellers’ phones were shown at 7:44 p.m. at a Port Matilda gas station. Then, they traveled to the Bedford area at 9:10 p.m.
Trial evidence indicated that Dibert’s phone left the area and traveled southeast toward the Lust Gentlemen’s Club at 10:49 p.m., and at 11:02 p.m., she was seen through surveillance video walking into the location and looking at her phone.
While Dibert was at the club, Sellers’ phone showed him near the victim’s residence at 12:21 a.m., then driving toward Breezewood at 12:28 a.m., Bonin said.
When Jamie Beers took the witness stand, she testified that she knew Sellers was going to set fire to the victim’s house, but she did not watch him do it.
Beers said that earlier in the day, she drove past the victim’s home and noticed a woman and children through a window. But she said she did not tell Sellers about seeing them.
During cross examination, however, Beers said she told Sellers about seeing the woman and children in the house, and as a result, Sellers spoke to Dibert.
Beers also said both plans were Dibert’s ideas and that Sellers was getting drugs.
“That’s all I know,” she said.
Beers said she was not offered a plea deal and that she was a witness “voluntarily.”
When defense attorney Mark Zearfaus asked Beers if she told her story to anyone while serving prison time, she said she did not.
On Dibert’s behalf, Megan Kleinertz told the jury about a statement she wrote while in the county prison about Beers’ involvement with the fire.
When reading the statement, Kleinertz said Beers told her that the victim’s father paid Sellers and Beers to fake a fire at the victim’s house to make Dibert worry. The couple then told Dibert they were no longer working with her and drove back to the house while the victim’s father started the fire.
After the victim’s father put out the fire, he drove down the road and paid Sellers and Beers half of what he owed them, and that he would pay them the rest “when Dibert is in jail and is away from his daughter,” Kleinertz testified.
Beers said it was the “easiest money they ever made,” and the event was like “date night” for her and her boyfriend, according to Kleinertz.
When Dibert took the witness stand, she told the jury that every witness lied when testifying.
Dibert said the victim was addicted to meth, but when they were married in August 2022, she stopped taking drugs, then began using again later on in their marriage.
“I guess she was doing it behind my back,” Dibert said.
During cross examination, Bedford County Assistant District Attorney Megan Will asked Dibert if she was monitoring the victim at their home.
Dibert said the victim could have left “whenever she wanted” and that she could have taken the truck.
Previously in her testimony, Dibert said the couple only had one car, which is why they worked the same shift at a restaurant in State College.
The truck was in the shop for repairs while they were married, Dibert said. After the victim left, the truck was fixed.
On the day of the fire, Dibert said she was with Sellers and Beers at two gas stations before going to her new job at Lust Gentleman’s Club. While she initially said her shift started at 7 p.m., she later testified that her work shift started that night at 11 p.m.
Closing arguments are slated to be presented in court this morning.
Mirror Staff Writer Colette Costlow is at 814-946-7414.
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