Terrell Yarbrough Retrial « Thread Started on Oct 19, 2009, 2:31pm »
(It appears that even though this had originally been an Ohio case it is now being heard in Pennsylvania.)
Second Murder Trial Opens Wounds for Victim's Mother
Wednesday will be Day One of the second murder trial for Terrell Yarbrough, the man accused of killing two Franciscan University students in 1999. Yarbrough is accused of the shooting deaths of Aaron Land and Brian Muha.
The two bodies were found off of U.S. Route 22 in Pennsylvania.
Jury selection began in a Washington County courtroom last week.
He is facing the death penalty in this case if convicted.
This is the second trial for the murders.
The first conviction was overturned in 2004 in Ohio.
Retrial slated this week for man charged with 1999 « Reply #1 on Oct 19, 2009, 3:03pm »
Retrial slated this week for man charged with 1999 murder of 2 Ohio students in western Pa.
A former Pittsburgh man again faces a possible death penalty in a retrial in the shooting deaths of two Ohio college students a decade ago.
Twenty-nine-year-old Terrell Yarbrough is scheduled to go on trial this week in the 1999 deaths of Franciscan University students Aaron Land and Brian Muha. Prosecutors say Land and Muha were kidnapped from their Steubenville, Ohio, home and driven to the Pittsburgh suburb of Robinson Township, where they were shot.
An Ohio jury convicted Yarbrough in the slayings and sentenced him to death. But in 2004 the Ohio Supreme Court overturned the conviction, saying he and co-defendant Nathan Herring were tried in the wrong state.
Defense attorney Kenneth Haber said he doesn't believe the evidence proves that his client was the triggerman, and he will submit evidence that Yarbrough is on the borderline of mental retardation. http://www.sfexaminer.com/nation/64703672.html
After years of delay, Terrell Yarbrough will be in « Reply #2 on Oct 19, 2009, 4:15pm »
After years of delay, Terrell Yarbrough will be in court again
There have been 10 lonely Christmases and 10 missed birthdays since the families of Brian Muha and Aaron Land first entered a courtroom to face the man accused of kidnapping and killing the young men on a wooded hillside in Washington County.
This week, relatives and friends will gather for yet another confrontation with Terrell Yarbrough, who after years of delays will stand trial a second time in a second state for the slayings of the university students in 1999.
Mr. Yarbrough, 29, formerly of East Liberty, was convicted of 12 counts, including aggravated murder, and sentenced to die nine years ago in Ohio. A jury in Steubenville found he was the triggerman in the kidnap-slayings of Mr. Land, 20, of Philadelphia, and Mr. Muha, 18, of Westerville, Ohio.
Weeks earlier, another jury in Steubenville had convicted his co-defendant, Nathan Herring, of Steubenville, of aggravated murder and other charges. Mr. Herring was sentenced to life in prison. The men also were convicted of carjacking a Squirrel Hill woman.
After eight days of jury selection and a one-hour delay due to a sick juror, the retrial of Terrell Yarbrough in the slayings of two college students began this morning in Washington County court.
Mr. Yarbrough, 29, formerly of East Liberty, was convicted nine years ago by an Ohio court and sentenced to die for the 1999 slayings of Aaron Land, 20, of Philadelphia, and Brian Muha, 18, of Westerville, Ohio.
However, when the Ohio Supreme Court automatically reviewed the case -- as it does with all death penalty cases -- it threw out the murder and conspiracy convictions against Mr. Yarbrough, saying the case should have been tried in Pennsylvania, where the victims were found several days after they went missing.
Mr. Yarbrough and a co-defendant, Nathan "Boo" Herring, were accused of robbing and kidnapping Mr. Land and Mr. Muha from their off-campus apartment near Franciscan University in Steubenville on May 31, 1999.
During opening statements this morning, Washington County Assistant District Attorney Michael Lucas told the jury of nine women and three men that he would present evidence that Mr. Yarbrough was caught driving Mr. Muha's 1996 Chevrolet Blazer less than 24 hours after the students disappeared.
After initially denying involvement in the crime, Mr. Yarbrough confessed to police that he was present during the murders, Mr. Lucas said. The defendant led police to a steep hillside along Route 22 in Robinson, Washington County, where their bodies were found under a thicket of wild roses.
Defense lawyer Kenneth Haber, though, said new evidence in the case points to Mr. Herring as the triggerman in the homicides.
Two years after the murder, and after the men were convicted in Ohio, Mr. Haber said, a .44-caliber revolver was found wrapped in towels and stuffed into in a heating duct at the western Ohio home of Mr. Herring's uncle.
Also wrapped around the gun was a search warrant police obtained two years earlier to search Mr. Herring's home. During the initial search, police testified they found .44-caliber bullets and a bank card belonging to Mr. Muha.
Mr. Herring is to be tried separately.
Testimony is expected to begin this afternoon in front of Common Pleas Court Judge John DiSalle
Retrial resumes in slaying of two Ohio college stu « Reply #4 on Oct 28, 2009, 9:50am »
Retrial resumes in slaying of two Ohio college students
Jurors in Washington County court yesterday heard audiotapes of a sometimes defiant, sometimes sobbing Terrell Yarbrough of East Liberty claiming to be a man named Michael Poole from New York City, who had no involvement in the disappearance of two college students.
Steubenville police Detective John Lelless testified yesterday that the audiotapes were made on Memorial Day 1999, about 12 hours after students Aaron Land, 20, of Philadelphia, and Brian Muha, 18, of Westerville, Ohio, disappeared from their off-campus apartment near Franciscan University of Steubenville.
Their roommate, Andrew Doran, testified on Monday that he ran to a neighbor's and phoned police after being awakened at about 5 a.m. May 31, 1999.
But, by the time Steubenville police arrived minutes later to the two-story duplex on McDowell Avenue, the students and their assailants were gone.
At about 6 that night, police apprehended Mr. Yarbrough, 29, who was driving Mr. Muha's 1996 Chevrolet Blazer through downtown Steubenville.
Detective Lelless said Mr. Yarbrough didn't acknowledge his real name for two days, as police, FBI agents, the Air National Guard, and other searchers scoured a three-state area for the students.
On June 4, 1999, the remains of Mr. Muha and Mr. Land were found along Route 22 in Robinson, Washington County.
Police believe Mr. Yarbrough and a co-defendant, Nathan "Boo" Herring, robbed and kidnapped the students, driving them several miles into Pennsylvania, where they were marched up a steep embankment and shot to death.
Mr. Yarbrough had already been convicted and sentenced to die for the murders after a trial in Ohio nine years ago, but the Ohio Supreme Court later threw out the murder and conspiracy convictions, saying the case should have been tried in Pennsylvania.
Yesterday, Detective Lelless also showed the jury a pair of gray sweatpants that were stained with what appeared to be blood, and three soiled white socks that Mr. Yarbrough was wearing when he was arrested. On one foot he wore two socks, Detective Lelless said.
Mr. Yarbrough was also found wearing a rosary of blue and white beads with a white cross belonging to Mr. Muha, and a tan ball cap with gang insignia.
Defense lawyer Kenneth Haber, who has pointed to Mr. Herring as the triggerman, asked Detective Lelless whether police followed up on a complaint from a Steubenville man who said he was pistol-whipped by Mr. Herring and another man on the night of May 29, 1999, with a .44-caliber Magnum gun.
Blood spatter on the walls and bedding in Mr. Land's bedroom led police to believe the students were probably pistol-whipped and beaten before they were abducted.
The detective said he didn't recall whether Mr. Herring was asked about the incident.
Mr. Haber questioned Detective Lelless about why blood droplets at the apartment were not tested against a sample from Mr. Herring, who was arrested with cuts and abrasions to his left hand and shoulder.
He also wanted to know why police declined to test Mr. Yarbrough's hands for evidence of gunshot residue. He also challenged assertions from Detective Lelless that Mr. Yarbrough fully understood his rights and voluntarily agreed to waive them to record the audiotaped statement.
Mr. Yarbrough could face the death penalty if convicted. Mr. Herring is expected to stand trial after Mr. Yarbrough's case ends.
Witness Testifies In Yarbrough Re-Trial « Reply #5 on Oct 28, 2009, 10:38am »
Witness Testifies In Yarbrough Re-Trial
Jury selection has concluded and the opening arguments began in the re- trial of a man convicted of kidnapping two men in Ohio and killing them in Pennsylvania in 1999.
A roommate, who escaped the kidnapping gave an emotional testimony on the first day of trial proceedings.
Andrew Dorn, who now works for U.S. State Dept, became friends with Aaron Land and described how he ran from the apartment and called police.
Terrell Yarbrough, 25, was convicted and sentenced to death in the shooting deaths of Brian Muha, 18, and Land, 20.
Both men were students at Franciscan University in 1999 when they were kidnapped from their apartment.
Yarbrough's defense attorney told the jury that while his client may have done some bad things in connection to the kidnapping and death of Muha and Land, he did not pull the trigger.
He claimed that Nathan Herring was the mastermind and shooter.
The Ohio Supreme Court threw out that sentence ruling that Yarbrough and co-defendant Herring should be tried in Pennsylvania for the homicides.
Officials found the bodies of the two men in a wooded area of Washington County.
When Washington County Judge John DiSalle asked a pool of 166 potential jurors if they had heard of the case, nearly half said they had.
In 2006, then-Washington County District Attorney John Pettit said that he would prosecute both Yarbrough and Herring on the homicide charges in Pennsylvania.
Prosecutors Warn Of 'Graphic' Testimony In Student « Reply #6 on Oct 28, 2009, 10:41am »
Prosecutors Warn Of 'Graphic' Testimony In Student Murder Case
Prosecutors warned a Washington County jury on Monday that they would hear "graphic" testimony in Terrell Yarbrough's second murder trial, but the Pittsburgh man's lawyer maintains that his client is still not guilty of killing two college students.
To read more; (also contains links to video and related articles)
DNA expert testifies at homicide trial « Reply #8 on Oct 29, 2009, 6:33pm »
DNA expert testifies at homicide trial
A cigarette butt is the only piece of DNA evidence that might link Terrell Yarbrough to two college students murdered 10 years ago, said an expert who reviewed more than 200 pieces of evidence in the case.
However, former FBI serologist and DNA expert Julie Kidd testified yesterday in Washington County court that multiple samples of blood evidence instead implicated a co-defendant, Nathan "Boo" Herring, of Steubenville, Ohio.
Though the testimony came from a prosecution witness, it bolsters claims from Mr. Yarbrough's defense team that Mr. Herring was the triggerman in the Memorial Day 1999 shooting deaths of Aaron Land, 20, of Philadelphia, and Brian Muha, 18, of Westerville, Ohio.
Mr. Yarbrough's lawyers have painted their client as a borderline mentally retarded sidekick of Mr. Herring, but prosecutors maintain that Mr. Yarbrough participated in the slayings and should be equally culpable.
They are seeking a first-degree murder conviction and the death penalty.
Police theorize that Mr. Yarbrough, 29, of East Liberty, and Mr. Herring, 28, robbed and kidnapped Mr. Land and Mr. Muha at their off-campus apartment near Franciscan University of Steubenville.
They are accused of driving the students several miles into Robinson, Washington County, in Mr. Muha's Chevrolet Blazer, marching them up a steep embankment along Route 22 and shooting them to death.
Though Mr. Yarbrough and Mr. Herring were convicted nine years ago in Ohio of the murders, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that the pair should be retried in Pennsylvania, where the students' bodies were found four days after they went missing on May 31, 1999.
Mr. Herring faces a retrial soon, but in the three days since Mr. Yarbrough's trial started, he has been featured prominently, especially in testimony involving guns, ammunition and other physical evidence.
Ms. Kidd testified that although deep-tissue samples from Mr. Muha and Mr. Land were somewhat degraded due to decomposition, she was able to obtain samples from their parents to compare with blood evidence on 28 items.
Three jackets found in Mr. Muha's Blazer tested positive for Mr. Herring's blood, as did multiple blood drops in another stolen vehicle and on several ATM receipts from Mr. Muha's bank account.
A stolen bank card from the same account was found during a search of Mr. Herring's home, police said.
The cigarette butt with Mr. Yarbrough's DNA was found in the Blazer, and though Ms. Kidd could not absolutely declare him the source of the DNA, the chances the sample came from another person is one in 24 billion among the black population, and one in 81 million Caucasians.
To be definitively characterized as a "source of DNA," Ms. Kidd said a sample must have less than a one in 280 billion chance of being from a different source.
Mr. Herring's blood was found mixed with that of Mr. Land on a sample taken from the Blazer, Ms. Kidd said, and Mr. Land's blood was found on several gauze bandages in the rear of the SUV.
Defense lawyers have pointed to cuts and wounds on Mr. Herring's hands and shoulders as evidence that he beat the students, possibly pistol-whipping them.
Suspect again found guilty of killing college stud « Reply #9 on Nov 3, 2009, 3:19pm »
Suspect again found guilty of killing college students
A Washington County jury today found a man from Pittsburgh guilty of first-degree murder in the slayings of two college students 10 years ago.
After deliberating until 11:30 p.m. last night, the jury discussed the case for another hour this morning before returning the verdict against Terrell Yarbrough around noon.
Mr. Yarbrough, 29, formerly of East Liberty, and a co-defendant, Nathan Herring, were accused of robbing and kidnapping Brian Muha, 18, of Westerville, Ohio, and Aaron Land, 20, of Philadelphia, from their apartment, forcing them into Mr. Muha's car and killing the students several miles away in Washington County, Pa. Their remains were found June 4, 1999.
Mr. Yarbrough had already been convicted and sentenced to die for the murders in Ohio in 2000, but the Ohio Supreme Court later threw out the murder and conspiracy convictions, saying the case should have been tried in Pennsylvania, where the students' bodies were found several days after they went missing.
Prosecutors will be asking the same jury to impose the death penalty on Mr. Yarbrough, and that phase of the trial will begin either later today or tomorrow.
Jury Spares Execution In Ohio Student Slayings « Reply #10 on Nov 8, 2009, 2:07am »
Jury Spares Execution In Ohio Student Slayings
A southwestern Pennsylvania jury has decided against the death penalty for a former Pittsburgh man accused of fatally shooting two Ohio college students in 1999.
Thursday’s verdict means 29-year-old Terrell Yarbrough will spend life in prison for slaying Franciscan University students Aaron Land, of Philadelphia, and Brian Muha, of Westerville, Ohio.
Yarbrough’s attorney says he was neglected by his heroin-addicted parents and has such a low IQ that his execution should be barred by a 2002 U.S. Supreme Court decision banning the execution of the mentally disabled.
Yarbrough was previously sentenced to death in Ohio. He was retried and convicted in Washington County, Pa., after the Ohio conviction was overturned because the killings happened in Pennsylvania. http://www.latestcrime.com/?23aG0ydm
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