Pittsburgh jury mulls decade-old murder case in retrial of man
PITTSBURGH – A jury must now decide the fate of a man on trial again in the murder of a woman whose body was found in the basement of a vacant Pittsburgh house more than a decade ago.
Forty-two-year-old Michael Molina is charged in the murder of 21-year-old Melissa Snodgrass, who was last seen September 2003. Workmen found her mummified remains and those of her family’s dog in March 2004.
Molina was convicted of third-degree murder and sentenced to 20 to 40 years but won a new trial based on a prosecutor’s remarks.
Defense attorney Thomas Farrell attacked the credibility of prosecution witnesses Tuesday, calling his client a “fall guy.” The prosecutor said the defense was contending one witness lied about some things but told the truth about others.