"At the end of a day of anguished and riveting testimony into a 14-year-old's mysterious death involving a state legislator's handgun, the man who will decide whether to recommend criminal charges against anyone stunned the courtroom by declaring he did not believe what state Sen. Robert Regola III said under oath.
"I did not find the testimony of Senator Regola or his brother at all credible, and I might be able to draw inferences from that," said Thomas J. Farrell, the hearing examiner.
That sharp statement followed conflicting testimony that exposed inconsistencies in what Mr. Regola, his son and his brother said regarding the handgun that is at the heart of the investigation in the death of Louis Farrell, a boy the senator said was like a son to him.
Mr. Farrell, a former federal prosecutor, said he would recommend to Westmoreland County authorities within two weeks whether 14-year-old Louis killed himself or died by homicide or accident, and if anyone is culpable. His impression after hearing 19 witnesses over two days was that the evidence "strongly suggests a suicide," something the Farrell family has denied.
However, Mr. Farrell cautioned, even if it were ruled that Louis took his own life, that would not prevent prosecutors from filing charges of involuntary manslaughter or reckless conduct regarding the stewardship of Mr. Regola's gun, or aiding and abetting a suicide.
Mr. Farrell is not related to the family of the deceased."
Full article:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07055/764677-59.stm
Also, this article
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07053/764042-59.stm gives an overview of the incident and details some of the inconsistencies and changing stories that have been offered.