Pennsylvania man with bodies in his yard awaits jury’s decision

Pennsylvania man with bodies in his yard awaits jury’s decision

The jury failed to reach a verdict on Tuesday, and so deliberations will continue today to see if Hugo Selenski will face the death penalty.

Jury deliberations will continue today in the trial of a Pennsylvania man who is accused of using plastic ties to strangle a pharmacist and his girlfriend in 2002 and then bury them in his yard.

After meeting for four hours on Tuesday and failing to reach a verdict, deliberations are expected to continue today, according to an Associated Press report.

Prosecutors argue that Hugo Selenski murdered Michael Kerkowski and Tammy Fassett as part of a plot to steal tens of thousands of dollars from an illegal prescription drug ring. If convicted, Selenski could face the death penalty.

Another man faces charges in the incident: Paul Weakley, who pleaded guilty to helping Selenski commit the murders and testified against him, although Selenski’s lawyer is calling him a liar.

A total of five bodies were discovered in Selenski’s yard back in 2003. However, prosecutors failed to get homicide charges to stick in two cases.

Selenski’s lawyers focused on attacking the credibility of the prosecution’s witnesses, asserting his innocence in the case while admitting that “he’s not a choir boy” during closing arguments.

Defense attorney Bernard Brown said that the prosecution had failed to produce any forensic evidence despite having the flex ties allegedly used in the killings as well as duct tape and seized cars.

Prosecutors acknowledged that Weakley wasn’t the most credible witness, but argued that it had presented more than enough evidence even without Weakley’s testimony.

Prosecutors allege that Selenski was targeting Kerkowski over money, and Fassett happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time when Selenski came for the money.

A total of 30 witnesses testified for the prosecution, and the defense spent its time trying to find inconsistencies to prove key witnesses had incentive to lie.

Be social, please share!

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusredditpinterestlinkedintumblrmail

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *