An attorney for convicted murderer Kevin Murphy has asked for a court review of his murder conviction, contending that his attorneys did not effectively defend him at trial.
The 56-year-old Murphy is from Saltsburg. In 2013, he was found guilty of three counts of first-degree murder and sentenced to death for the killings of his mother, sister, and aunt four years earlier at the family’s glass business, located in Loyalhanna Township, Westmoreland County.
Last year, the State Supreme Court rejected his appeal of both the verdict and the death sentence, and Corrections Secretary John Wetzel signed the death warrant in November. Murphy then claimed his attorneys, Mark Bolkovac and Bob Bell, had not offered a satisfactory defense. A new attorney, Brian Aston was appointed that same month, and another attorney, Kenneth Noga, was added in January.
After being granted two extensions to file an appeal, Aston filed papers yesterday in Westmoreland County Court, seeking access to the physical evidence and the trial exhibits. The most damaging piece of evidence at trial was a .22 caliber revolver that police said he used to shoot the three women. Murphy claimed he had used the gun to shoot at birds. Prosecutors said he had shot the victims because they objected to his involvement in an affair with a married woman.
