Bucks man pleads guilty in love-triangle killing witnessed by subject of rivalry

A Bensalem Township man has pleaded guilty in the love-triangle shooting death of a rival on the front porch of the victim's home. The woman who was the object of their rivalry witnessed the murder.

Under the Bucks County Court plea agreement, Jeffrey Gould, 34, could be sentenced to 12 to 40 years in prison on the third-degree murder count in the slaying of Edward Dubinsky, 33, of the Jamison section of Warwick Township, last July 13.

The Bucks County District Attorney's Office gave the following account:

The men had quarreled over Zannatul Asha Naim, who said that right before the shooting, she was sitting in Dubinsky's lap. The couple had been in a long-term relationship before separating. During the separation, Naim moved in with Gould.

On the day of the killing, Naim and Dubinsky had gone to the Jersey Shore, spending most of the time "quarreling and fighting," before returning to Jamison.

Naim said she saw Gould walk up to the porch with the weapon but was unable to stop him. After shooting Dubinsky, Gould pistol-whipped Naim and  forced her to flee, eventually to North Carolina, before agreeing to surrender to police.

On July 14, a neighbor walking his dog found Dubinsky's body in a pool of blood on the porch.

Copies of emails revealed that Dubinsky and Gould had been taunting and insulting each other in the weeks leading up to the murder, including one warning to Dubinsky to "leave my future wife alone," according to District Attorney Matthew D. Weintraub.

Gould's attorney, S. Phillip Steinberg, argued that the email did not suggest an intent to kill and that it was "one of many, many, many emails" between the men.

"Ultimately, he was unwavering in his desire to accept responsibility for his actions," Steinberg said.

Gould pleaded guilty to possession of an instrument of crime, and the jail term for that charge will run concurrently with the murder sentence.