Attorneys for a man charged in the 2010 torture killing of a Mt. Pleasant woman have been given two weeks to give prosecutors details collected by a taxpayer-funded expert hired to prepare trial evidence to determine if he should once again be sentenced to death.
At a hearing on Friday in front of Judge Rita Hathaway, lawyers for Melvin Knight reported that despite paying a New York-based expert for her work last year, they have yet to receive any written reports regarding the case. Knight, formerly of Swissvale, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in connection with the death of Mt. Pleasant resident Jennifer Daugherty. Prosecutors said that Daugherty was held captive for two days before she was stabbed to death. Police said that Knight, along with five other Greensburg roommates were involved in the torture and killing, and Daugherty was found bound with Christmas lights and stuffed into a trash can that was left under a truck in a parking lot.
Knight was sentenced to death for his guilty plea, but the state appeals court overturned death sentence, and a new trial was ordered to give him a chance at life without parole.
