Penalty phase opens in Wolowski trial
The lawyer for a former Washington man found guilty of fatally shooting another man six years ago in the city’s West End neighborhood asked the jurors to give his client a chance at redemption.
“Yes, he committed horrible, horrible criminal acts,” said Thomas N. Farrell, an attorney representing Brandon Wolowski, 24, Friday. “That doesn’t define him.”
Farrell was addressing a Washington County jury that will decide whether to sentence Wolowski to death or life in prison.
A day earlier, the same panel convicted Wolowski of first-degree murder in the Jan. 8, 2013, killing of Matthew Mathias, 37, during an attempt to steal the gun collection from Mathias’ West End house. He also shot Mathias’ girlfriend, Michelle Powell, 45, that same night.
The prosecution called Alvin Mathias, the victim’s father, to give an impact statement. Among those he said were affected were his son’s siblings and three daughters.
“His visits and spending time with us are very often missed by our family and friends,” Alvin Mathias said.
The jurors – who also returned guilty verdicts on attempted homicide, aggravated assault and robbery charges filed by city police – were instructed they can consider evidence they heard in the trial during the penalty phase, which will continue Monday.
The prosecution is arguing aggravating factors – Wolowski’s killing of Mathias in the course of committing a felony and his knowing creation of a “grave risk of death” to Powell – are present and warrant the death penalty.
Meanwhile, the defense contends Wolowski’s age – 18 at the time of the murder – and a substantial impairment in his capacity to appreciate he was committing a crime are mitigating factors that should keep jurors from sentencing him to execution.
Deputy District Attorney Leslie Ridge told jurors it’s their job to decide if any of those factors are present and weigh them against each other in making their decision.
Farrell took steps to humanize his client.
One witness he called was Candie Mcelhaney. Her daughter, Mariah, is the mother of Wolowski’s now-6-year-old daughter, Natalia.
“The smile that he has will light up the room when you mention Natalia,” she said.
Farrell described Wolowski’s traumatic childhood, saying he was the victim of frequent abuse as he moved “constantly” with his mother, also residing in “numerous” foster homes.
One witness Farrel called, Shelly Hutchison, described meeting Wolowski’s mother because Hutchison worked at a beer distributor that Wolowski’s mother frequented. When Wolowski was about 8, his mother left him in the care of Hutchison, with whom he lived until he was 11.
Much of Wolowski’s history was also outlined in a report by Michael Crabtree, a psychologist and professor at Washington & Jefferson College, who testified as an expert witness. Among the findings he described was a diagnosis of fetal alcohol syndrome and that Wolowski was in special education and “it was difficult for him to benefit from school instruction.”
Deputy District Attorney said at one point while cross examining Crabtree that Wolowski’s IQ score is considered to be in the normal range, based on an evaluation since his arrest.
Angela Seaman, who knew Wolowski when she was a science and special education teacher at Washington High School during the years when he was enrolled there, recalled Wolowski as a ninth-grader who stood up for an autistic student if other kids made derogatory comments about the student.
That same year, when he was in her science class, she said he was reading at a second-grade level and had difficulty with the pace of the lessons.
She described him as kind. She said he was vulnerable to other students’ influence.
“He wanted acceptance and was definitely a follower,” Seaman told jurors.
A Washington County jury last recommended a death sentence in 2015. Gov. Tom Wolf has implemented what he calls a moratorium on executions in Pennsylvania.