Westmoreland County Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio ruled yesterday that the attorneys for convicted triple murderer Kevin Murphy can use taxpayer money to pay for a ballistics expert to examine the weapon police say was used in the killings, as they prepare his latest appeal.
The 58-year-old Murphy, who is from Saltsburg, was found guilty in 2013 of shooting to death his mother, sister, and aunt at the family’s glass business in Loyalhanna Township. The killings took place in 2009, and were apparently motivated by Murphy’s anger that the women objected to his relationship with a married woman.
Judge Bilik-DeFazio originally granted defense attorneys Brian Aston and Ken Noga $2,500 for the ballistics expert, but rescinded the authorization when District Attorney John Peck objected, because he was not even notified, let alone given the opportunity to argue against it. After a hearing last Thursday, the judge reinstated the payment authorization.
Aston and Noga intend to base their appeal on a claim of ineffective counsel by Murphy’s original defense team and Mark Bolkovac and Bob Bell. They contend that the .22 caliber pistol used in the shootings has evidence that someone other than Murphy handled it, and that two bullet fragments from one of the victims did not match the gun. A previous appeal was denied by the State Supreme Court.
