Westmoreland County Judge Meghan Billik-Defazio ruled that Kevin Murphy, convicted of killing three family members in Loyalhanna Township, will not receive a new trial based on his absence when a jury went to look at the crime scene.
In 2009, officials said he killed his mother, sister and aunt at the family’s auto glass business over a disagreement over his married girlfriend moving into the family home. Last year, Murphy filed an appeal, saying that his former lawyer Robert Bell provided an inadequate defense and said that his lawyer’s advice to not join the jury on a crime scene visit violated state law and required a new trial. He also said that his lawyers did not properly investigate other suspects.
Judge Billik-Defazio said while it was improper for him to be absent from the site visit, it was not significant enough to impact the jury’s verdict. She also set a 90-day deadline for prosecutors to respond to the other claims made in his appeal.
Murphy has denied involvement in the murders.
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