GUILTY PA - Jennifer Daugherty, 30, Held Captive, Tortured To Death, Greensburg, 11 Feb 2010 *appeal 2022 denied*

[longtallcold]

http://triblive.com/news/westmoreland/3697015-74/smyrnes-letter-trial#axzz2OgBXxeui

Convicted killer Ricky Smyrnes wants a new trial, and he wrote a letter to a Westmoreland County judge from his prison cell to ask for one.

 

[believe09]

I hope God does take pity on them. This was one of the worst cases I have ever read-I am not surprised that the juries had no trouble finding them guilty. Three different juries had to look at those wounds. LE and family had to testify three times.

 

[coeurfragile]

What happened to Ms. Daugherty is so horrific. I cannot imagine the fear, pain and betrayal that she went through, while these "people" who she thought to be her friends tortured and killed her. I grew up in Greensburg, and my parents house is less than half a block away from where these horrendous actions took place

The death penalty is too good for these monsters but if that is the worst we can legally do to them, I am all for it. They should be so lucky to be taken care of for the rest of their miserable lives. The suffering they have to "endure" is nothing compared to what they did to Jennifer Daugherty.

 

[JoeFromLB]

Three defendants remain to be prosecuted. There may be plea deals in the works.

http://triblive.com/news/westmoreland/3580326-74/meidinger-daugherty-death#axzz2QdmhkRYu

 

[OkieGranny]

http://triblive.com/news/westmoreland/6463050-74/masters-daugherty-prison#axzz37nIbyWmc

The man who received the shortest sentence among six roommates convicted of torturing and killing a mentally challenged woman claims his prison term is too long.

In a handwritten appeal filed in Westmoreland County, Robert Masters, 40, contends his own mental handicap prevented him from making a thoughtful decision to plead guilty to the 2010 murder of 30-year-old Jennifer Daugherty of Mt. Pleasant.

Masters was sentenced in February by Judge Rita Hathaway to serve 30 to 70 years in prison.

 

[OkieGranny]

http://triblive.com/news/westmoreland/7603003-74/meidinger-appeal-torture#axzz3POBUacHF

The woman who was the linchpin in the prosecutions of a group of Greensburg roommates convicted in the torture slaying of a mentally disabled woman said in court Tuesday she no longer wants to challenge her sentence.

Amber Meidinger, 25, was in court to ask a judge to reconsider the 40- to 80-year sentence she received for pleading guilty in December 2013 to a lesser charge of third-degree murder...

Responding to questions from Hathaway, Meidinger said she no longer wanted to pursue her appeal. “I don't want a new trial,” Meidinger said. “I will spend my time in jail.”

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Greensburg woman to be resentenced in 2010 torture, murder case

http://triblive.com/local/westmoreland/12660441-74/greensburg-woman-to-be-resentenced-in-2010-torture-murder-case

Marinucci, now 25, was convicted of first-degree murder for her involvement in the 2010 killing of Jennifer Daugherty of Mt. Pleasant and was sentenced to life in prison. A few months after her trial she was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Marinucci was 17 at the time of her arrest. State and federal appeal courts have since ruled that mandatory life sentences for juveniles are unconstitutional.

Codefendants Ricky Smyrnes, 30, formerly of North Huntingdon, and Melvin Knight, 27, formerly of Swissvale, were sentenced to death. Knight's death sentence has been vacated by a state appeals court. He will return to court in October for a new sentencing trial in which jurors will hear evidence to determine if he should again receive the death penalty.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Westmoreland judge delays new sentencing trial for Jennifer Daugherty killer

http://triblive.com/local/westmoreland/13114162-74/westmoreland-judge-delays-new-sentencing-trial-for-jennifer-daugherty-killer

The retrial to determine whether convicted murderer Melvin Knight lives or dies for his role in the 2010 torture slaying of a mentally challenged Mt. Pleasant woman has been delayed until April.

The trial had been set to begin next month. At the request of defense attorneys Jim Robinson and Tim Dawson, the judge approved the delay.

Knight, 28, was condemned to death in connection with the February 2010 slaying of 30-year-old Jennifer Daugherty in a Greensburg apartment. The state Supreme Court last year overturned the death sentence and ordered a new sentencing trial.

https://ujsportal.pacourts.us/DocketSheets/CPReport.ashx?docketNumber=CP-65-CR-0000851-2010

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Sentencing in Greensburg murder case delayed again

http://triblive.com/local/westmoreland/13369384-74/sentencing-in-greensburg-murder-case-delayed-again

On Thursday, Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Rita Hathaway pushed back the start of the trial one month, to July, in which jurors will determine if Melvin Knight is sentenced to death or to serve life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Hathaway earlier this week set jury selection for Knight's second penalty trial to begin in June. She issued a revised schedule on Thursday that calls for jury selection to begin July 9. Testimony in the case is to start on July 12, the judge said.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Melvin Knight seeks to withdraw guilty plea in Mt. Pleasant woman's killing

Jury selection for Knight's resentencing trial is scheduled to begin July 9, when prosecutors will seek to have him again condemned to death for his role in the February 2010 torture killing of 30-year-old Jennifer Daugherty.

Knight is now seeking to withdraw his guilty plea to charges of first-degree murder and other offenses. He initially pleaded guilty in 2012, before he was sentenced to death for his role in Daugherty's slaying.

“He is now proclaiming his innocence on all of the charges to which he previously entered a guilty plea,” according to the court motion filed by lawyers Tim Dawson and Jim Robinson.

 

[JerseyGirl]

Prosecutors need more time before sentencing trial for Melvin Knight

Melvin Knight, 28, has been on death row since he was sentenced in 2012. A state appeals court vacated the sentence in 2016 and a new penalty phase trial is scheduled to begin July 9.

 

[JerseyGirl]

The death penalty trial for Melvin Knight will not happen until at least November.

The judge ordered the remaining defense expert reports be turned over to prosecutors by July 10. She set jury selection to begin Oct. 29, with testimony to start Nov. 1.

Knight also has asked to withdraw his guilty plea. The judge said she will hold a hearing on that request in October.

New sentencing trial in Greensburg torture-murder case pushed back

 

[JerseyGirl]

Missing expert report sought before new sentencing trial for Melvin Knight

In preparing for Knight’s second sentencing trial, which is scheduled for jury selection to begin Oct. 29, the defense hired three experts to assist with preparing the case in which they will seek life prison term without the possibility for parole.

 

[JerseyGirl]

8 jurors picked for resentencing trial in Greensburg murder case

Jury selection will continue today. Testimony in the trial is scheduled to begin Nov. 5.

 

[JerseyGirl]

Forensic scientist testifies in Greensburg murder/torture death penalty trial

 

[JerseyGirl]

A jury in Westmoreland County has sentenced Melvin Knight to death for the torture and murder of Jennifer Daugherty eight years ago.

The jury spent about seven hours deliberating on Thursday, trying to decide Knight’s fate. He will now return to death row.

Knight’s original death sentence was overturned on appeal.

Jury Sentences 'Greensburg 6' Member Melvin Knight To Death

 

[HMSHood]

What a horrific case all around. There are females who are masterminds who instigate others to torture a person. They range from Gertrude Baniszewski, Theresa Knorr, Pamela Smart, Laurie Tackett, Dora Cisneros, Diane Zamora, Lori Drew, Eliza Baker, Kayla Narey, Karinthya Sanchez Romero, and Angela Lynn Marinucci. They are often consumed by extreme jealousy and envy. They are often predatory in nature.

I would consider Marinucci an injustice collector with predatory tendencies. She is like Lori Drew, Gertrude Baniszewski, Jodi Arias, Dora Cisneros, Nathalie Keepers, David and Louise Turpin, Pamela Smart, Diane Zamora, Betty Broderick, Patrick Purdy, Elliot Rodger, Eric Harris, Nikolas Cruz, Adam Lanza, Seung-Hui Cho, Martin Bryant, Omar Mateen, Stephen Paddock, Anders Breivik, Jim Jones, and Osama bin Laden in the injustice collector aspect. Marinucci is like Jerry Sandusky, Larry Nassar, Jimmy Savile, Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, Antoinette Davis, and Mary Kay Letourneau. She is predatory like them. Sometimes predators can also be injustice collectors.

 

[JerseyGirl]

Judge accused of bias in Greensburg woman's appeal of sentence for 2010 torture slaying

The former Greensburg woman who was the first person convicted in the 2010 torture murder of a mentally disabled woman contends a Westmoreland County judge abused her discretion late last month when she imposed a prison sentence of 60 years to life. In an appeal filed Friday, Angela Marinucci, 29,

triblive.com

 

[JerseyGirl]

Judge denies bias, upholds sentence in 2010 Greensburg torture killing

The 60-years-to-life prison sentence imposed on one of six Greensburg roommates convicted in the 2010 torture and slaying of a mentally disabled woman will stand, a judge ruled Friday. Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Rita Hathaway said the lengthy prison term imposed against 29-year-old...

triblive.com