Judge allows defense to get expert for appeal in Loyalhanna murder case

A Westmoreland County judge on Tuesday authorized defense attorneys for an Indiana man on death row for the shooting deaths of his mother, sister and aunt to use up to $2,500 of taxpayer money to help formulate another appeal of his murder convictions.

Common Pleas Court Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio approved a defense request to hire a private ballistics expert as part of an attempt by Kevin Murphy to win a new trial.

Murphy, 58, was sentenced to death by lethal injection for the April 2009 slayings of his mother, Doris Murphy, 69; sister Kris Murphy, 43; and aunt Edith Tietge, 81. Each was shot in the back of the head with a .22-caliber revolver at the family-owned glass repair shop in Loyalhanna. Prosecutors at trial contended the woman were killed because they disapproved of Murphy’s romantic relationship with a married woman and didn’t want her to live at the family home near Saltsburg, Indiana County.

New court-appointed defense lawyers Brian Aston and Ken Noga contend ballistics evidence that linked the gun prosecutors said Murphy used to kill his family members was not properly challenged during the 2013 trial. The defense said it will hire a Texas-based expert to review the gun, bullet fragments and other evidence that prosecutors said proves Murphy committed the murders.

Westmoreland County prosecutors objected to the taxpayer-financed expert, saying a private ballistics expert, paid by Murphy, testified on his behalf at the trial.

A previous appeal filed by Murphy was rejected by the state Supreme Court. Defense attorneys said they are preparing a new appeal that is expected to claim Murphy was not adequately represented at his trial by his private attorneys.