EBENSBURG, Pa. (AP) - A judge rather than a jury will hear the death penalty case against a western Pennsylvania man in his girlfriend’s stabbing death.
The (Johnstown) Tribune-Democrat (https://bit.ly/2lbo7KH ) reports that public defenders for 37-year-old David Leon Johnson requested the nonjury proceeding in Cambria County, and the commonwealth agreed.
District Attorney Kelly Callihan cited costs concerns, since jurors in capital cases are typically sequestered and housed in hotels to prevent outside influences.
Judge Patrick Kiniry will hear the case beginning March 9. If he convicts Johnson of first-degree murder, he must then decide whether to impose capital punishment or life without parole.
Authorities allege that Johnson stabbed 30-year-old Allison Vaughn three times and strangled her in March 2015 for refusing to let him withdraw money from her bank account to buy drugs.
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Information from: The Tribune-Democrat, https://www.tribune-democrat.com
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