Judge William Martin on Tuesday denied a Writ of Habeas Corpus and a motion to dismiss charges against Charles Cook, the transient charged with killing 76-year-old Myrtle McGill at her Indiana home a quarter-century ago.
The Writ of Habeas Corpus would have mandated that the court show justification for holding Cook in custody and the motion to dismiss would have freed Cook from having to face trial for McGill’s killing, which happened on December 7th, 1991.
Investigators say that in 1991, Cook was released from prison in Dallas, PA and instead of reporting to a Philadelphia halfway house, he took a bus across the state to Indiana, where he shot McGill through her kitchen window and stole her car. Police found the car at the Pittsburgh Greyhound bus terminal and in 2007 his DNA was identified on a cigarette butt found inside of it. He was finally located in Minnesota in October 2016 and extradited to Indiana County last February. He’s served prison sentences in eight states for numerous crimes, including burglary, rape, drug dealing, and assault.
Judge Martin has appointed Robert Manzi Jr. as Cook’s new attorney and given Manzi thirty days to file omnibus motions on behalf of his client.
