Judge upholds conviction, death sentence in torture slaying
GREENSBURG (AP) – A judge has rejected a man’s appeal of his first-degree murder conviction and death sentence in the torture slaying of a mentally disabled woman six years ago in Western Pennsylvania.
Thirty-nine-year-old Ricky Smyrnes was convicted in Westmoreland County in the February 2010 murder of 30-year-old Jennifer Daughtery.
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that Judge Rita Hathaway rejected his appeal Friday, saying prosecutors presented enough evidence that he was the ringleader of six roommates who tortured, beat and killed the victim in a dingy Greensburg apartment.
Defense attorneys challenged decisions on witness testimony and other rulings on legal issues and also said the evidence didn’t support a first-degree murder conviction or the death penalty.
Smyrnes and Melvin Knight were sentenced to death and the others are serving decades in prison.