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Thread: Masters, Miller and Marinucci Sentenced in PA Torture Slaying of Jennifer Daugherty

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    Masters, Miller and Marinucci Sentenced in PA Torture Slaying of Jennifer Daugherty


    Robert Lee Masters, Jr.


    One of six defendants charged in the torture death of a mentally disabled woman recounted in a recorded statement played Thursday at a preliminary hearing how he repeatedly stabbed the woman, and how he and some of the others beat her and fed her urine, feces, and detergent.

    After the five-hour hearing, Greensburg District Judge James Albert ordered all defendants to stand trial on charges of homicide, kidnapping, aggravated assault and criminal conspiracy.

    Even as he admitted stabbing 30-year-old Jennifer Daugherty in the chest and neck and helping dump her body, Melvin Knight said co-defendant Ricky Smyrnes primarily called the shots.

    The recorded statements of both Knight and Smyrnes, both from Greensburg, were played in court and indicated the defendants were angry with Daugherty because she wanted to have sex with Smyrnes while she visited them at an apartment in Greensburg, about 30 miles east of Pittsburgh. She began her visit Feb. 8; her body was found about 7 a.m. Feb. 11.

    After being tied up, beaten repeatedly and forced to drink the concoctions over roughly a day and a half, Knight said Smyrnes told him Daugherty had to die.

    "Ricky went and got a knife and told me to stab her. I hesitated for a little bit, then I stabbed her," the 20-year-old Knight said on the recording. He admitted stabbing her "about three" times in the chest sometime in the early hours of Feb. 11.

    He said he stabbed her again in the side after Smyrnes said she was still alive.

    Knight recounted how he and Smyrnes then stuffed Daugherty's body in a trash can and carried it to a nearby school parking lot, where they shoved it under a truck. Knight told detectives that he then feared the 23-year-old Smyrnes.

    "It was either me or Jennifer, or my fiance" — Amber Meidinger, 20, another defendant, Knight said. Meidinger was pregnant with his child, he said.

    As Daugherty's final hours were recounted, some of her family members wept and, at times, stared at the handcuffed and shackled defendants seated about 10 feet away.

    Daugherty's family declined comment after the hearing.

    Her stepfather, Bobby Murphy, 62, of Mount Pleasant, previously said she had the mental abilities of a 12- to 14-year-old.

    Knight, Smyrnes and Meidinger occasionally smirked and smiled during the hearing. Knight mouthed "Yes" in sync with his taped voice as a detective asked him if he understood his rights.

    In his recorded statement, Smyrnes admitted having sex with Daugherty. He acknowledged that angered his girlfriend, Angela Marinucci, 17, another defendant.

    He said he, Knight, Meidinger and Marinucci began beating Daugherty and tied her up on Feb. 9. In the early morning of Feb. 11, he said, Knight stabbed her.

    Smyrnes said he sliced Daugherty once on the arm, but only because Knight forced him to. He said Knight also forced him at knifepoint to take sleeping pills.

    Attorneys for five defendants declined comment the hearing.

    The chief public defender in Westmoreland County, Dante Bertani is representing Peggy Miller. He said she was "a little slow," and at least several defendants had "mental health backgrounds." The defense was trying to document them, he said.

    In his recorded statement, Smyrnes mentioned he hadn't taken his bipolar medication.

    "I'm not excusing what they did. But you also have to take into consideration that if you have people who are not able to make the same kind of judgments that you or I might make, that's some mitigation of what happened," he said.

    He said Miller and sixth defendant, Robert Loren Masters Jr., 36, were specifically cleared of wrongdoing by the statements of Knight and Smyrnes. Though they may have been there, he said, they had no obligation to intervene.

    Westmoreland County District Attorney John Peck said other evidence would come out showing others' involvement.

    The defendants declined comment outside the courtroom. But, as he was being put into a sheriff's van to be transported to jail, Miller said, "We're sorry what we did and we didn't mean it."

    A formal arraignment is set for April 23, but a trial date has not been set.

    Peck said he hasn't decided whether to seek the death penalty.

    http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100305/ap_on_re_us/us_disabled_woman_torture_4


    February 21, 2010

    Greensburg's killing prompts death penalty push

    By Len Barcousky
    Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

    Death penalty backers rallied in Greensburg on Saturday and signed a petition urging "justice for Jennifer."

    Organizer Stephen Smolleck said he wanted to demonstrate support for imposing the death penalty on those responsible for the torture and slaying of Jennifer Daugherty, a 30-year-old mentally disabled woman from Mount Pleasant.

    Six people have been charged in the case. Each faces counts of homicide, kidnapping, aggravated assault and conspiracy.

    Saturday's rally drew about two dozen people to North Main Street in front of the Westmoreland County Courthouse. Many were carrying homemade signs bearing such messages as "An Eye for an Eye."

    Christine Meadows, of Greensburg, shouted to passing drivers to "beep your horn." Many did so as they drove past, while other rally participants chanted "Justice for Jennifer."

    By evening, supporters had collected about 200 signatures from rally participants and passersby who said they believe the death penalty should be imposed in the case.

    Mr. Smolleck plans to present the petitions supporting the death penalty for anyone convicted of killing Ms. Daugherty to Westmoreland County District Attorney John Peck.

    "I never wrote a petition before," he said.

    The afternoon courthouse rally was one of two held Saturday. A second group held a 7 p.m. candlelight vigil, also outside the courthouse.

    Ms. Daugherty's body was found in a trash container on Feb. 11. Police said she had been tortured for more than a day before she was killed.

    Mr. Smolleck, a paralegal student from Greensburg, said he informed people about Saturday's event mostly through his Facebook page.

    While many of the rally participants had no connection to Ms. Daugherty or her family, April Fabery, of Greensburg, knew her.

    "She was a lovely young lady," she said. "If you talked to her once, she was your friend for life."

    http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10052/1037545-59.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml#ixzz0hGcMjQ4K

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    Death penalty weighed for five defendants in Greensburg murder

    Westmoreland County District Attorney John Peck said he has offered three men and two women charged with the torture killing of a mentally challenged Greensburg woman a chance to tell him why prosecutors should not seek the death penalty against them.

    "We're seeking input from the defendants themselves, if they can offer any information about mitigating factors," Peck said Wednesday.

    Prosecutors have not decided whether to seek the death penalty against Greensburg roommates Melvin Knight, 20; Ricky V. Smyrnes, 23; Robert Loren Masters, 36; Peggy Darlene Miller, 26; and Amber Meidinger, 20. A sixth defendant, Angela Marinucci, 17, a senior at Greensburg Salem High School, is charged as an adult but is ineligible under state law for the death penalty because of her age, Peck said.

    All six are charged with first-degree murder in connection with the Feb. 10 slaying of 30-year-old Jennifer Daugherty. Police contend Daugherty was tortured for nearly two days in a Pennsylvania Avenue apartment in Greensburg before she was strangled, stabbed to death and shoved into a trash can that was left in a middle school parking lot.

    Peck said the ongoing investigation has produced additional evidence since the arrests.

    Peck is required by law to decide his intention to seek the death penalty by the time of the defendants' formal court arraignment, which is scheduled for April 23.

    Peck said a decision won't be announced until that date.

    The arraignment will be conducted by Westmoreland County Judge Rita Hathaway, who this week was assigned to the case. Last week, Judge Debra Pezze, who originally was assigned as the trial judge, asked to be removed from the case.

    President Judge John Blahovec approved the transfer and said Pezze offered no reasons for her request.

    "It's a courtesy I would afford to any of my trusted colleagues," Blahovec said.

    Pezze could not be reached for comment yesterday afternoon.

    Last month, Pezze came under fire after an erroneous television report indicating that she immediately released Smyrnes from jail in October after he had violated his parole from a two-to-23-month sentence.

    Court records indicated that Smyrnes had remained in the Westmoreland County Prison for an additional three months, until Jan. 21, when he was released to a halfway house in Mt. Pleasant for mental health patients.

    http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/westmoreland/s_673263.html

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    DA gets 45 days to decide whether to seek death penalty in Greensburg woman's slaying

    Westmoreland County District Attorney John Peck will have an additional 45 days to decide whether to seek the death penalty against any of the six people charged with torturing and killing a mentally disabled woman in February.

    The deadline for the decision had been today, when the six are due to be formally arraigned before Common Pleas Judge Rita Donovan Hathaway. Mr. Peck requested and received an extension from a judge to review new information recently submitted by some of the defendants' attorneys, he said.

    Police say Jennifer Daugherty, 30, was held captive in a Greensburg apartment for more than two days while the six beat, tortured and fatally stabbed her. A truck driver found her body in a garbage can outside Greensburg-Salem Middle School on Feb. 11.

    Ricky Smyrnes, 23; Melvin Knight, 20; Robert Masters Jr., 36; Peggy Miller, 27; Amber Meidinger, 20; and Angela Marinucci, 17, await trial on homicide, kidnapping and other charges.

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    Peck: Death penalty decision to remain secret until June 7

    Westmoreland County District Attorney John Peck said this morning that he won't announce his decision whether to seek the death penalty against any of the defendants in the February torture killing of a mentally handicapped woman before the June 7 deadline.

    The three men and three women charged with stabbing to death 30-year-old Jennifer Daugherty appeared in court this morning as their criminal cases were called for trial. The roommates are accused of torturing her in their Greensburg home before binding her body in Christmas decorations, dumping it in a trash can and dropping it at the parking lot of Greensburg Salem Middle School on Main Street, where it was found Feb. 11.

    Police charged Greensburg residents Ricky V. Smyrnes, 24; Melvin L. Knight, 21; Amber C. Meidinger, 20; Peggy Darlene Miller, 27; Robert Loren Masters, 36; and 17-year-old Angela Marinucci, a senior at Greensburg Salem High School, with first-degree murder.

    "We're still gathering evidence. It's an important decision and I feel I should take as much time as is needed," Peck said about the possibility of his seeking the death penalty.

    Because Marinucci is a minor, she is ineligible to receive the death penalty.

    Westmoreland County Judge Rita Hathaway continued all six cases indefinitely and ordered that a hearing be convened in September to update the status prosecution.

    http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/westmoreland/s_681724.html

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    Man Accused In Greensburg Torture Killing Also Accused Of Assaulting Wife

    Ricky Smyrnes is expected to be tried in connection with the violent death of a mentally challenged Westmoreland County woman.

    But before he heads to court on those charges, he will appear in an Allegheny County courtroom to face a judge for what police said he did to his wife.

    Smyrnes, 23, is one of six people accused of killing his love interest, Jennifer Daugherty.

    Smyrnes, Melvin Knight, 20, Angela Marinucci, 17, Amber Meidinger, 20, Peggy Darlene Miller, 27, and Robert Loren Masters, 39, are all facing charges in connection with the Greensburg case.

    But prior to Daugherty's February killing, Karena Smyrnes told Channel 4 Action News her husband sent her to UPMC McKeesport hospital.

    "I don't want to make any comments because I don't want to risk any problems," Karena Smyrnes said.

    As a potential witness, she can't say much to the media. But her sister, Treasure Martinez, did speak about how badly she said Ricky Smyrnes treated Karena.

    "He's horrible. He tried to kill her. You know. But then again, she didn't know this. He was a wonderful person when she first met him, that's why she married him," Martinez said.

    According to McKeesport police, Karena Smyrnes didn't want to be intimate with her husband on Oct. 9, 2009.

    She told police Ricky Smyrnes grabbed her by the hair, threw her to the ground, punched her with an open fist and then began choking her.

    "He deserves whatever he is getting, he deserves the worst possible consequence ever. He's a horrible person, he's not going to change," Martinez said.

    Police said they believe Smyrnes was the ring leader in the Daugherty killing and he could face the death penalty when he goes to trial in the fall in Westmoreland County.

    Before then, Smyrnes will face Judge Jeffery Manning in Allegheny County on simple assault and harassment charges.

    http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/23758855/detail.html

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    DA to decide death penalty in Pa. torture killing

    GREENSBURG, Pa. (AP) — A district attorney is expected to announce whether to pursue the death penalty against five of six suspects charged with torturing and murdering a mentally disabled western Pennsylvania woman.

    Westmoreland County District Attorney John Peck must decide Monday, because it is 45 days after the formal arraignments of the suspects charged with killing 30-year-old Jennifer Daugherty. Her body was found stuffed in a trash container Feb. 11.

    Peck can only pursue the death penalty against five of the six suspects, because one is just 17 years old and cannot face execution.

    Investigators say the suspects forced Daugherty to drink urine and detergent and write a "suicide" note before dumping her body in a school parking lot about 30 miles east of Pittsburgh.

    http://www.whptv.com/news/state/story/DA-to-decide-death-penalty-in-Pa-torture-killing/IqL7v3x2ykGTdGMjh285DQ.cspx?rss=51

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    Melvin Knight, Ricky Smyrnes, Amber Meidinger Could Die If Convicted Of Killing Jennifer Daugherty

    The Westmoreland County district attorney will seek the death penalty against three of the six people charged in connection with the torture and murder of a mentally challenged woman.

    Melvin Knight, 20, Ricky Smyrnes, 23, Angela Marinucci, 17, Amber Meidinger, 20, Peggy Darlene Miller, 27, and Robert Loren Masters, 39, are all facing charges in connection with the death of Jennifer Daugherty, 30, in Greensburg.

    Because of her age, Marinucci was not eligible to be put to death if convicted in connection with the killing.

    On Monday, District Attorney John Peck announced that he will seek the death penalty for Knight, Smyrnes and Meidinger.

    In a news release, Peck said that after reviewing the evidence, his office is seeking death for the three suspects because of two aggravating circumstances: the fact that Daugherty was killed by means of torture and the fact that Daugherty was killed while the defendants were "in the perpetration of a felony."

    Channel 4 Action News' Jennifer Miele reported that Bobby Murphy, Daugherty's stepfather, was at the courthouse on Monday. Murphy said he and the family support Peck's decision to seek the death penalty for the three suspects.

    "We met with him Thursday afternoon. He went over it with the family, what the guidelines were for the death penalty. And this is who we thought it would be," Murphy said. "We back him 100 percent."

    Police said Daugherty was tortured at an apartment for nearly two days in February before she was strangled, stabbed and stuffed into a trash can in the Greensburg Salem Middle School parking lot.

    http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/23816926/detail.html

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    Westmoreland judge must tap 6 lawyers for murder trial

    Six lawyers will have to be appointed to represent three suspects who face the death penalty if they are convicted of torturing and killing a mentally disabled Greensburg woman.

    Westmoreland County District Attorney John Peck will seek the death penalty against three of the six defendants accused in the fatal stabbing of 30-year-old Jennifer Daugherty. Defense lawyers must have a special certification to handle capital murder trials.

    The prosecution labeled Greensburg roommates Ricky Smyrnes, 24, Melvin Knight, 20, and Amber Meidinger, 20, as the ringleaders who are accused of holding Daugherty captive before killing her, stuffing her body in a trash can and leaving it in the snowy parking lot of Greensburg Salem Middle School. Her body was discovered Feb. 11.

    Robert Loren Masters, 37, Peggy Darlene Miller, 27, and Angela Marinucci, 17, are charged with first-degree murder but prosecutions will not seek the death penalty against them.

    Court-appointed lawyers would earn $50 an hour from the county for work on death penalty cases.

    Westmoreland County Judge Rita Hathaway said Tuesday that she and President Judge John Blahovec will appoint two lawyers each for Smyrnes, Knight and Meidinger.

    Those lawyers will handle the trial and a separate sentencing hearing that would be held if the suspects are convicted of first-degree murder. Jurors would decide between the death penalty or life imprisonment.

    "Obviously, Judge Blahovec and I would like to appoint attorneys in our county," Hathaway said. Those appointments won't come before next week, she said.

    Knight and Meidinger are being represented by attorneys Jeff Miller and Emily Smarto, respectively. Both recently obtained their certifications from the state Supreme Court but it is unclear whether they can remain on the case. Hathaway said her staff is researching that issue.

    Some lawyers will most likely come from neighboring counties. The board lists four qualified lawyers in Fayette County and 23 in Allegheny County.

    According to the state Supreme Court's Continuing Legal Education Board, only three Westmoreland County lawyers are eligible to be appointed for this case.

    Diane Krivoniak, executive director of the Westmoreland County Bar Association, said few local lawyers seek death-penalty certification because those cases have been rare.

    "It's a supply-and-demand issue," Krivoniak said.

    In 2004, the Supreme Court increased the requirement for lawyers to work on death penalty cases. They must have at least five years of trial experience and complete 18 hours of education during the previous three years, said Dan Levering, administrator for the continuing education board.

    Westmoreland County has not had a death penalty case since 2000. In 1981, defense attorney Rabe Marsh charged $30,000 to represent "kill for thrill" murderer John Lesko of Pittsburgh. Marsh earned $40 an hour.

    Lesko was sentenced to death for the 1980 killing of Apollo police officer Leonard Miller. He and co-defendant Michael Travaglia of Washington Township are the only people to be condemned to death by a Westmoreland County jury since capital punishment was reinstated in the late 1970s.

    Lesko's conviction was overturned several years ago and he is awaiting a new trial.

    http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/westmoreland/s_685118.html

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    Greensburg slaying suspect pleads in wife assault case

    One of three people facing a possible death penalty in the gruesome slaying of a Greensburg woman pleaded no contest Wednesday in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court to assaulting his wife.

    Ricky V. Smyrnes, 24, of McKeesport, was accused of attacking Karena Smyrnes on Oct. 9 during an argument over sex.

    According to a criminal complaint filed in the case, Mr. Smyrnes grabbed his wife by the hair, punched her in the head and tried to strangle her.

    He entered the no contest plea before Judge Jeffrey A. Manning to both simple assault and harassment. Mr. Smyrnes was sentenced to two years probation.

    He is currently being held in the Westmoreland County jail on charges that he, along with five others, killed Jennifer Daugherty, 30.

    http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10161/1064528-56.stm?cmpid=localstate.xml#ixzz0qS6m5S9u

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    'Jennifer's Law' would make it crime for witnesses not to report violence

    A state senator is proposing legislation that she hopes will eliminate some of the problems uncovered after the slaying of Jennifer Daugherty and deter other violent crimes.

    Kim Ward, a Hempfield Republican, is holding a news conference at noon Monday in the Capitol Media Center to discuss and seek sponsorship from fellow lawmakers for "Jennifer's Law."

    The senator said Friday that a pivotal part of her proposal is to make it a crime for people to witness a violent crime and not report it to police or other authorities if they can avoid being harmed themselves.

    Specifics would be added to the measure as others offer suggestions and the bill goes to legislative committees for review, Ward said.

    "As this progresses, we'll have more input, maybe hold a hearing, and have everybody in to tell us what they think," she said.

    Daugherty, 30, a mentally challenged woman, was held captive and tortured for more than 30 hours in a Greensburg apartment, then stabbed to death on the morning of Feb. 11, according to police. Her body was wrapped in Christmas lights, stuffed into a garbage can and left in a snow-covered parking lot outside Greensburg Salem Middle School.

    Last week, Westmoreland County District Attorney John Peck said he would seek the death penalty against suspects Ricky Smyrnes, 24; Melvin Knight, 20; and Amber Meidinger, 20, in connection with the slaying. Authorities believe the three were the ringleaders in the attack against Daugherty.

    The three, along with Peggy Darlene Miller, 27; Robert Loren Masters, 37; and Angela Marinucci, 17, all of Greensburg, are charged with first-degree murder and related offenses in Daugherty's torture and slaying.

    Ward said about a dozen other states have laws in place requiring people to report violent crimes.

    She said she would like the eventual bill to require better screening of people who use shelters and their visitors.

    At least three of the suspects were involved in the county's mental health programs. Like Daugherty, some of them lived in shelters at times.

    At various points in early February, the six suspects moved into the North Pennsylvania Avenue apartment where police said Daughtery was killed.

    Ward said she hopes the measure will lead to significant changes.

    "Hopefully it turns something good out of something bad," she said.

    http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/westmoreland/s_686763.html

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