Man sought in killing of woman in Brookline

The man charged with killing a woman in Brookline earlier this month told police his gun went off accidentally while he held it, but gunpowder marks found on her face indicate it was likely placed on her cheek, according to court documents.

Pittsburgh police were searching Friday for Daniel Rehll, 25, of Overbrook, who faces a homicide charge and gun violations in the July 19 death of Maria Bruno, also 25, inside her home.

Ms. Bruno and Mr. Rehll dated off-and-on during the 13 years they knew each other, police said. Ms. Bruno had dated someone else for the past four years and reconnected with Mr. Rehll after she ended that relationship.

Mr. Rehll told homicide detectives shortly after the shooting that on July 18 he and Ms. Bruno went to someone else’s house, where he drank one or two beers, and then to a lounge, where he had two shots of liquor and three beers. They went back to Ms. Bruno’s house with about a half-dozen other people and two 12-packs of beer.

Mr. Rehll told officers he wanted to show off his .45-caliber pistol, so he removed the magazine and took a live round of ammunition out of the chamber.

After the others left, Mr. Rehll and Ms. Bruno began cleaning up around her swimming pool. Mr. Rehll told police he held the gun in his right hand, with his arm bent at the elbow at a 45-degree angle. He said Ms. Bruno reached up and put her hands under his “when the gun suddenly went off,” according to a criminal complaint.

“Rehll stated that he could not remember why he pulled the

trigger, and that he can’t remember the moments around and leading up to the gun being discharged,” police wrote. “Rehll stated that he heard the gun discharge and saw the muzzle flash and remembers seeing Bruno bleeding.” He called 911. When police arrived, Ms. Bruno was lying next to the swimming pool. Mr. Rehll’s gun was sitting on a table, a live round in the chamber and two more in the magazine.

During an autopsy conducted later that day, the Allegheny County medical examiner’s office determined that Ms. Bruno was killed by a bullet that entered her left cheek and traveled through the right side of her head. A doctor there noticed powder burns around the wound and told police “the barrel of the gun had to be placed almost completely on the victim's cheek when the round went off due to the powder burns around the wound.”