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Thread: Jordan Alexander Clemons - Pennsylvania Death Row

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    Jordan Alexander Clemons - Pennsylvania Death Row


    Karissa Kunco


    Jordan Clemons


    Washington County District Attorney Gene Vittone filed a notice today indicating he will seek the death penalty for Jordan Clemons, who is facing trial in the death of ex-girlfriend Karissa Kunco.

    Police said Mr. Clemons, 23, stabbed her to death and dumped her body on the side of Sabo Road in Mount Pleasant Township. She was reported missing Jan. 11 and found a day later.

    Today, Mr. Vittone filed a notice of aggravating circumstances, writing that Mr. Clemons had a "significant history of felony convictions involving the use or threat of violence." Additionally, he wrote, Ms. Kunco had filed for a protection-from-abuse order against Mr. Clemons in mid-December after she accused him of beating her up.

    http://old.post-gazette.com/pg/12122...#ixzz1tj1Mr52a
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    Woman killed in apparent domestic violence incident remembered 2 years after death; Ex-boyfriend awaiting trial

    Hundreds of people gathered Sunday night to remember a young woman killed two years ago in an apparent domestic violence incident.

    Family and friends held a candlelight vigil in Brookline to honor Karissa Kunco. Kunco was found dead in a Washington County field two years ago.

    The district attorney said Kunco’s ex-boyfriend, Jordan Clemons, is responsible for her death. Clemons is awaiting trial.

    "It appears that both the victim and Mr. Clemons had a tumultuous relationship and that they were separated from one another," said Washington County District Attorney Gene Vittone.

    The criminal complaint stated that hours before Kunco's body was found, Clemons used her credit card to buy an X-Box video game system at a South Strabane Walmart.

    It was Jan. 12, 2012 when Kunco's crashed car was found in Cecil Township with blood on the floor and backseat. Hours later workers found her naked body five miles away, covered in leaves.

    Investigators said Clemons slit Kunco's throat and left her to die.

    Clemons’ trial is expected to begin in the spring.

    Kunco’s family member said they have worked tirelessly to keep their loved one’s memory alive and to help other women who may be in an abusive relationship.

    Since her death, Kunco’s family began “Karissa’s Army,” an effort that not only celebrates Kunco’s life, but raises money to help victims of domestic violence.

    “Do what you have to do. Don’t think it’s going to change. It’s not going to change. Get out,” said Kunco’s mother, Kathy Kunco-Makowski.

    “If we can save one girl, one life… that’s what we’re about. It’s well worth it,” said Kunco’s stepfather Don Makowski.

    Since Kunco’s death, her family members said they have raised over $10,000 for the Greater Pittsburgh Women’s Shelter.

    If convicted, Clemons could face the death penalty. He remains in the Washington County Jail.

    http://www.wpxi.com/news/news/local/...ent-dom/ncmFP/
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    Venue change sought in western Pa. slaying trial

    A defense attorney says the trial of a western Pennsylvania man accused of having stabbed his estranged girlfriend to death two years ago should be moved or heard by a jury from another county.

    The (Washington) Observer-Reporter (http://bit.ly/1sgaDwN) reports that a Washington County judge will rule later on the motions in the case of 25-year-old Jordan Clemons.

    Clemons' attorney on Thursday cited news coverage of the homicide of 21-year-old Karissa Kunco, whose naked body was found in the woods in January 2012 a day after her family reported her missing.

    He also cited a group called Karissa's Army that has organized rallies and is active on social media. Prosecutors, who are seeking the death penalty, said the group focuses on domestic violence and doesn't prejudice the case against Clemons.

    http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20...BsT4Xrbd6Cd.99
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    Judge rejects bid to move slaying trial

    A western Pennsylvania judge has rejected a request to move the trial of a man charged in the stabbing death of his estranged girlfriend two years ago.

    The (Washington) Observer Reporter reports that Washington County Judge Katherine Emery on Wednesday denied the motion by 25-year-old Jordan Clemons.

    Authorities allege that Clemons killed 21-year-old Karissa Kunco and dumped her naked body in a wooded area in January 2012. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

    Assistant Public Defender Brian Gorman cited news coverage of the case as well the social media presence of a group called Karissa's Army that has organized rallies.

    Prosecutors argued that the victim was a resident of another county and that by the September trial date, about 30 months will have elapsed since the homicide.

    http://www.wtae.com/news/judge-rejec...#ixzz2zoecHidk
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    Jurors selected in death penalty case

    After three and a half days of jury selection for the Jordan Clemons homicide trial, attorneys have chosen five people for the 16-member panel.

    Jury selection began Wednesday with Washington County Judge Gary Gilman posing group questions to 151 potential jurors. On Thursday, potential jurors were placed into groups of 20 to be interviewed individually. Assistant District Attorney Chad Schneider said each potential juror is being asked a series of 85 questions that will touch on varying qualifications for the case. Additionally, potential jurors were required to fill out a questionnaire that posed questions about the death penalty, among other things.

    The prosecution is seeking the death penalty. Twelve people will serve as jurors, with four others to be chosen as alternates.

    Clemons, 26, formerly of Canonsburg, is accused of killing his ex-girlfriend, 21-year-old Karissa Kunco of Pittsburgh, in January 2012 and dumping her body in a wooded area of Mt. Pleasant Township. Kunco was last seen alive Jan. 11, 2012. State police allege that after killing her, Clemons dragged her naked body into the woods along Sabo Road and covered it with leaves, brush and a tree stump. Kunco, whose throat was cut, had a protection-from-abuse order against Clemons.

    Defense attorney Brian Gorman has declined to say if Clemons would testify during the trial, which is expected to start May 4. Gorman intends to argue that head injuries Clemons suffered while playing football and in several vehicle accidents, plus years of drug abuse, diminished his mental capacity. Any brain injury Clemons experienced could have been a factor in his ability to form criminal intent, Gorman said in court documents.

    Schneider plans to call roughly 20 witnesses, including Kunco’s parents.

    Clemons also faces charges from a home invasion in Canonsburg Jan. 8, 2012, and is charged with flight to avoid apprehension in connection with an alleged assault of Kunco in December 2011.

    Clemons remains in Washington County Jail without bond.

    Jury selection is slated to continue for the rest of the week.

    http://www.observer-reporter.com/art...WS01/150319559
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    Jury selection in death penalty case nears end

    Jury selection for the Jordan Clemons homicide trial could end as early as Tuesday as attorneys have selected all but one member of the 16-juror panel.

    The process began March 11 before Judge Gary Gilman and was expected to last at least one week. Attorneys began with a pool of 151 potential jurors, who were interviewed individually and asked a series of questions that touched on varying qualifications for the case, including beliefs about the death penalty, which the prosecution is seeking in the case. Twelve people will serve as jurors, with four others serving as alternates.

    Clemons, 26, formerly of Canonsburg, is accused of killing his ex-girlfriend, 21-year-old Karissa Kunco of Pittsburgh, in January 2012 and dumping her body in a wooded area of Mt. Pleasant Township. Kunco was last seen alive Jan. 11, 2012. State police allege that after killing her, Clemons dragged her naked body into the woods along Sabo Road and covered it with leaves, brush and a tree stump. Kunco, whose throat was cut, had a protection-from-abuse order against Clemons.

    Clemons’ trial is expected to begin May 4 and could last several weeks.

    Defense attorney Brian Gorman declined to say if Clemons would testify. In the past, Gorman argued head injuries Clemons suffered while playing football and in several vehicle accidents, plus years of drug abuse, diminished his mental capacity. Any brain injury Clemons experienced could have been a factor in his ability to form criminal intent, Gorman said in court documents.

    Schneider plans to call roughly 20 witnesses, including Kunco’s parents.

    Clemons also faces charges from a home invasion in Canonsburg Jan. 8, 2012, and is charged with flight to avoid apprehension in connection with an alleged assault of Kunco in December 2011.

    Clemons remains in Washington County Jail without bond.

    http://www.observer-reporter.com/art...WS01/150329797
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    Death penalty trial for Pennsylvania man set to begin in girlfriend's slaying in January 2012

    WASHINGTON, Pennsylvania (AP) — Opening statements were expected Monday in the death penalty trial of a western Pennsylvania man charged in the stabbing death of his estranged girlfriend more than three years ago.

    Twenty-six-year-old Jordan Clemons, of Pittsburgh, is charged in Washington County in the death of 21-year-old Karissa Kunco. Her body was found in a wooded area of Mount Pleasant Township in January 2012 a day after Kunco's family reported her missing.

    District Attorney Eugene Vittone will ask for the death penalty if Clemons is convicted of first-degree murder.

    Defense attorney Brian Gorman has said he may argue Clemons had diminished mental capacity due to head injuries he sustained while playing football and during several vehicle accidents as well as years of drug abuse.

    The jury that will hear the case was picked in March.

    http://www.dailyjournal.net/view/sto...ng-or-Abducted

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    Jury finds man guilty of first-degree murder after ex-girlfriend's death

    WASHINGTON, PA — A Washington County man will learn Tuesday if he will be sentenced to death after a first-degree murder conviction. A jury found Jordan Clemons, 26, guilty of first-degree murder and other charges after a week-long trial.

    Prosecutors argued that Clemons killed Karissa Kunco, 21, of Baldwin in January 2012. They say he used her father’s debit card to buy an Xbox console at Walmart after he slashed her throat and stashed her body in the backseat of her car.

    Kunco and Clemons had dated, and Kunco said Clemons beat her before she broke up with him. She was treated at the hospital for cuts and bruises to her face and upper body.

    Road surveyors found Kunco’s body in the woods of Mount Pleasant Township the next day. Her car had been found nearby smashed against a tree. The back seat was filled her blood.

    The jury also found Clemons guilty of abuse of a corpse, tampering with evidence and aggravated assault.

    Tuesday the prosecutor will present aggravating circumstances, trying to convince the jury to sentence Clemons to death row.

    The defense will present mitigating circumstances trying to spare his life.

    http://www.wtae.com/news/jury-finds-...death/32946450

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    Jury says death penalty for Jordan Clemons in Karissa Kunco's murder

    Clemons, 26, will be formally sentenced Friday in Washington County court for his first-degree murder conviction in the January 2012 death of Kunco, 21.

    Kunco’s throat had been slashed four times. Her body was dumped in the woods of Mount Pleasant Township. She had filed a protection from abuse order against Clemons, whom she had dated and whom she said had beaten her.

    Kunco's parents gave victim-impact statements to the jury during Clemons' sentencing hearing. Kathy and Paul Kunco described their daughter as compassionate, smart and athletic, and Kathy said that having your child violently murdered is “like having your heart ripped out of your chest."

    "My heart breaks for them, my heart bleeds for them, and I'm so sorry, and if I could take that young lady's place, I would in a heartbeat," said Clemons' father, Robert.

    The prosecution argued that prior convictions for assault and robbery were aggravating circumstances for Clemons and recommended that the jury should sentence him to death.

    During the penalty phase of the trial, jurors heard testimony that Clemons grew up in an abusive environment, abused drugs, had prior brain injuries and was affected by his older brother's death as reasons to give him life in prison.

    Robert Clemons was called to testify for the defense, trying to convince the jury to spare his son's life. He said that he beat his son and Jordan's two siblings and his mother for years. His father testified that the abuse contributed to his son’s violent nature.

    "I'm not going to say that it led to the murder, but I can truly stand here and tell you that a lot of my past actions contributed to some things which brought out a lot of anger in him," Robert Clemons said outside the courthouse.

    http://www.wtae.com/news/jury-must-d...iller/32974266
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    Judge to hear arguments in convicted murderer’s appeal

    A Washington County judge will decide whether blacks were excluded from the jury pool before the 2015 death-penalty trial of Jordan Clemons in the killing of his ex-girlfriend.

    That Clemons, 27, “was entitled to a jury of his peers and the jury was comprised of all Caucasian individuals and (Clemons) is African-American” was one of the assertions lodged by Deputy Public Defender Charles Carpinelli in a motion asking Judge Gary Gilman to vacate Clemons’ sentence and acquit him on the charges.

    Gilman issued an order last week scheduling a hearing on that question for Dec. 16.

    Authorities said Clemons slit 21-year-old Karissa Kunco’s throat and dumped her naked body in a wooded area in Mt. Pleasant Township in January 2012.

    Clemons, formerly of Canonsburg and living in Pittsburgh’s Mt. Washington neighborhood at the time, was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to death in May 2015. He is now imprisoned at the State Correctional Institution-Greene.

    Along with pushing for an acquittal, Carpinelli alternatively asks Gilman to vacate Clemons’ sentence and order a new trial.

    In arguing for the acquittal, Carpinelli also wrote the prosecution didn’t provide sufficient evidence to show Clemons had fully formed intent to kill and “had willfully, deliberately and premeditatedly killed, with malice” – necessary for the first-degree murder conviction. In a subsequent filing, Carpinelli wrote that there was “enough evidence to reasonably support that the defendant was under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol and had done so in a state of diminished capacity,” including from state troopers who said he smelled of alcohol when he turned himself in.

    Carpinelli argued the judge should have instructed jurors about the diminished capacity defense, which could have resulted in a lesser conviction for third-degree murder.

    Deputy District Attorney Jerry Moschetta countered in court papers that there was sufficient evidence for a conviction on the charge.

    “Aside from the nature and severity of the four separate wounds to Ms. Kunco’s neck, there was additional evidence presented from which the jury based its verdict that the defendant killed Ms. Kunco willfully, deliberately and with premediation.”

    Among other details, Moschetta noted a protection-from-abuse order the Baldwin woman sought against Clemons 23 days before the homicide after he physically attacked her. Despite the order, Facebook messages showed Clemons “coercing Ms. Kunco into meeting him by threatening suicide.”

    He also disputed Carpinelli’s claim that there was sufficient evidence for a diminished capacity defense, noting state troopers who spoke to Clemons 12 hours after the discovery of Kunco’s body said he smelled like alcohol but appeared in control of his faculties.

    Among the arguments Carpinelli offered in requesting a new trial was that the court should have allowed Clemons to be tried in a different county because of local publicity for the case. He also asked the court to reconsider Clemons’ sentence, arguing the jury shouldn’t have imposed the death penalty.

    http://www.observer-reporter.com/201...rx2019s_appeal

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