Roe retrial will begin Monday
WAYNESBURG – Testimony is scheduled to begin Monday in the retrial of Lana Kaye Roe of Daisytown, charged in connection with the Aug. 14, 2012, shooting death of Cordele Edward Patterson, also of Daisytown, at a hunting cabin in Wayne Township.
A jury of nine women and three men, plus three alternates, was selected Thursday. Roe, 41, was charged along with her husband, Jason Roe, who was found guilty of first-degree murder Nov. 15, 2013, and was sentenced in January to life in prison without a possibility of parole.
That jury was unable to reach a verdict for Lana Roe, forcing Judge William Nalitz Nalitz to declare a mistrial.
In addition to homicide, Lana Roe also faces the charge of false reporting or falsely incriminating another. Police claim Lana Roe reported weapons as stolen Aug. 24, 2012, from the residence she shared with her husband that were later found to have been sold.
At trial, Lana Roe claimed she was confused about two of the weapons, telling the court one was later found in a laundry basket under articles of clothing. She said another, found by police to have been sold, was identical to a second gun stolen in a burglary. Both she and Jason Roe testified they believed Patterson broke into their home and took a cache of weapons and other items. There was never any evidence presented that indicated Patterson was responsible for burglarizing the Roe residence.
During that initial trial, Jason Roe was found guilty of an additional charge of aggravated assault that stemmed from gunshot injuries sustained by Lana Roe outside the Strawn Hill Road hunting cabin where Patterson was murdered. Lana Roe testified she fled from the scene because she was unsure if her husband shot her intentionally or by accident. The occupants of a residence where she stopped for help alerted police of the shooting.
At the first trial, Lana Roe testified she went into the cabin to get Patterson, at her husband’s request, but denied knowing he planned to shoot him. Police allege Roe was a knowing accomplice in the murder who lured Patterson outside for the sole purpose of Jason Roe killing him.