Defense seeks 2nd ballistics expert for Loyalhanna triple murder case appeal

A second expert will be sought to review ballistics as part of an appeal to be filed for a former Indiana County man on death row for the killing of his mother, sister and elderly aunt in 2009 at a family-owned automotive glass repair shop in Loyalhanna.

Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio signed off on the defense hiring such an expert but said no more than $3,850 of taxpayer money could be spent for the evidence review.

A jury convicted Kevin Murphy, 60, in 2013 of three counts of first-degree murder. He was sentenced to death. Prosecutors said Murphy used a .22 caliber revolver to kill his 69-year-old mother Doris Murphy, sister Kris Murphy, 43, and aunt Edith Tietge, 81. Each were shot in the back of the head.

During the trial, prosecutors argued Murphy killed the women because they disapproved of his romantic relationship with a married woman and objected to his plan to live with her in the family home near Saltsburg, Indiana County.

Murphy maintained his innocence during the trial.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court rejected Murphy’s first appeal in 2016. He has since claimed he received an inadequate defense during the trial. Defense attorneys Brian Aston and Ken Noga were appointed to represent Murphy in 2017. They have yet to file a new appeal but said they need an expert to review ballistic evidence presented at trial before specific claims can be raised.

Bullet casings and fragments recovered at the murder scene came from a weapon police said Murphy used in the shooting, according evidence presented at trial. A prosecution ballistics expert could not link two bullet fragments recovered from one of the victims to Murphy’s gun. DNA evidence from an unknown person also was found at the scene, according to Aston and Noga.

Defense lawyers were originally authorized in 2019 to spend up to $2,500 to hire a ballistics expert for the appeal. That expert has since been unwilling to work for the defense in the case and necessitated the new hiring, the lawyers wrote.