A pretrial conference in the Nathanial Price murder case is scheduled this afternoon before Indiana County Judge Thomas Bianco.
The 20-year-old Price is charged with two counts of homicide and single counts of robbery and conspiracy to robbery in the beating deaths of a Cherryhill Township couple at their apartment outside of Clymer in October of 2016. Co-defendant Justin Stevenson has already pleaded guilty to two counts of second degree murder and been sentenced to life in prison without parole. A third defendant, Isaiah Scott, was originally charged as an adult but his case was subsequently transferred to Indiana County Juvenile Probation.
Investigators say the three young men went to the apartment of Timothy Gardner and Jacqueline Brink to buy marijuana, but that Price and Stevenson jumped Gardner and beat him to death with a metal pipe. One of the two then went upstairs and beat Brink to death with a baseball bat because she would have been a witness. Stevenson claims it was Price who attacked Brink, but Price says it was Stevenson. Scott acted as a lookout during the crime, but fled when the beatings started.
By accepting a plea deal, Stevenson avoided a trial and possible conviction for first degree murder, with the death penalty. District Attorney Pat Dougherty has said he will pursue first degree murder with the death penalty against Price.
Today’s pretrial conference is scheduled for 2:15 in the judge’s chambers. Judge Bianco last week granted a defense request for a DNA expert to examine the evidence.
