Greensburg man to serve life in prison for murder, burning of Vandergrift woman

Beverly Richason didn’t hold back her anger in court Monday as she spoke about the horror her daughter endured when killed by friends who then burned her remains beyond recognition and left them in a heap of ashes in the woods more than four years ago.

“She had her faults, but she didn’t deserve to be murdered,” Richason said of daughter Ronny Cable during the sentencing hearing for Walter Cable, whom jurors convicted of first-­degree murder last June after an eight-day trial.

Walter Cable, 29, of Greensburg, who was not related to his victim, was sentenced Monday by Westmore­land County Common Pleas Judge Tim Krieger to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

“The way you murdered her and disposed her like you were dumping trash is heartless and reminds me of a scene from a horror movie,” Richason said.

The charred remains of Ronny Cable, 34, of Vandergrift were found in a heavily wooded Derry Township field near Keystone State Park on March 9, 2017. Prosecutors said a month earlier, Walter Cable, along with 29-year-old Devin Akamichi, took Ronny Cable to the woods, where she was robbed and killed.

Akamichi, the key witness at the trial, said Walter Cable hit her in the head at least 10 times with a hammer and then choked her to death as part of a plot to steal her drugs and money. The men spent the next 10 hours in the woods where they burned her body, although they briefly left the scene to purchase snacks at a nearby convenience store before they returned to finish the job, Akamichi told jurors.

“I can’t and don’t want to imagine the terror, pain and sadness that she felt while they bludgeoned and strangled her,” Richason said.

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Ronny Cable’s remains were found after Akamichi confessed to his role in the murder.

Police said Akamichi initially denied involvement in her disappearance but eventually confessed and identified Walter Cable as her killer after numerous police interrogations.

Akamichi then took investigators to the campsite where her charred remains were discovered. Hundreds of bone fragments and several pieces of jewelry were discovered at the wooded site that Walter Cable claimed was previously owned by his family members and he still used for campfires.

A small piece of scalp found among the remains contained Ronny Cable’s DNA, witnesses testified. Beer cans in a bag that hung from a tree near the remains contained Walter Cable’s DNA, according to the prosecution.

Walter Cable maintained his innocence at trial, where he testified he and Akamichi spent the day with Ronny Cable before her disappearance but they dropped her off at home after a trip to a local bar. His defense lawyer argued that Akamichi’s testimony was not to be believed.

Assistant District Attorney Pete Caravello read a letter written by Ronny Cable’s 12-year-old son, one of her two children, in which he described the impact of his mother’s death.

“This man changed our lives forever when she was taken from us,” he wrote.

Walter Cable declined to make any statements during the sentencing hearing.

Akamichi, of Export, has been in jail without bond since his arrest in 2018 on charges of criminal homicide, conspiracy and abuse of a corpse. No date for his trial has been set.