Jury seated for Greensburg man's murder trial, opening statements to begin Wednesday

Opening statements will begin Wednesday in the murder trial of a Greensburg man accused of fatally beating a woman whose burned remains were found four years ago in a Derry Township wooded area, a month after police said she was killed.

Walter Cable, 28, was charged with criminal homicide, conspiracy, robbery and abuse of a corpse in connection with the February 2017 bludgeoning and strangulation of 34-year-old Ronny Cable of Vandergrift. They were not related.

A 12-member jury and three alternates were selected Tuesday. The trial before Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Tim Krieger is expected to take about a week.

Walter Cable has been in jail without bond since his arrest in March 2018, a year after Ronny Cable’s remains were found near Keystone State Park. According to prosecutors, Walter Cable hit his alleged victim at least 10 times with a hammer, strangled her and stole drugs and money from her purse. After she died, he and another man burned her body to cover-up the murder, prosecutors contend.

Ronny Cable was reported as missing in early March 2017. Several weeks later, her charred remains along with several pieces of her jewelry were found in the secluded area police said once belonged to Walter Cable’s family.

In a previous court appearance, Cable’s defense lawyer Tim Andrews claimed another man was the killer.

Devin Akamichi, 28, of Export, the man prosecutors said confessed to being present when Ronny Cable was killed, is expected to testify against Walter Cable at the trial. Akamichi testified against Cable at his preliminary hearing in 2018. He is also charged with criminal homicide and other offenses in connection with Ronny Cable’s death.

Andrews this year said Akamichi was Ronny Cable’s killer and that Walter Cable was not present when she died.