Peters Township father accused of killing son asks judge to dismiss homicide case
Lawyers for the Peters Township father accused of fatally shaking his infant son in 2022 are asking a judge to dismiss the capital homicide case against him, claiming the prosecution has been “contaminated” over a bogus death certificate allegedly filed at the behest of the district attorney.
In the 271-page motion for extraordinary relief filed Monday at the Washington County Courthouse, Jordan Clarke’s defense attorneys offered a menu of options that range from dismissing all charges to holding a new preliminary hearing to even subpoenaing District Attorney Jason Walsh to testify on the witness stand if the homicide case goes to trial.
Clarke, 39, is accused of shaking his 11-week-old son, Sawyer, at his family’s Peters Township home on May 24, 2022, causing fatal injuries to the child, who died the next day at a Pittsburgh hospital. He was charged with homicide two weeks later, and Walsh is seeking the death penalty against Clarke should he be convicted of first-degree murder.
Clarke claims he slipped on a plastic bag while carrying Sawyer and fell on him, crushing the boy. The filing states Clarke suffers from mobility and balance issues after being involved in a severe motor vehicle crash in 2003 that required him to undergo months of physical rehabilitation.
At the heart of the filing asking Washington County Judge Michael Lucas to dismiss the case are accusations of prosecutorial misconduct against Walsh. The filing accuses Walsh of misleading a judge that Sawyer’s death occurred in Washington County to obtain a court order directing Coroner Timothy Warco to take custody of the body and file the death certificate. It also claims Walsh urged Warco to find the manner of death as homicide to help bolster his campaign for district attorney.
“However, herein, it cannot be disputed that the District Attorney’s lying to a judge and pressuring the county coroner all for political gain is the type of unethical and atrocious behavior that epitomizes the phrase ‘prosecutorial misconduct,'” the filing states.
The filing by defense attorneys Bill Difenderfer and Wendy Williams mainly asks Lucas to dismiss the entire case and set Clarke free. But if that option is not palatable, the filing suggests the first-degree murder charge be taken off the table. Doing so would automatically remove a potential death sentence. It also suggests Walsh’s office be disqualified from prosecuting the case and even suggests holding another preliminary hearing in light of Warco’s signed affidavit claiming Walsh coerced him into filing a faulty death certificate, which ultimately was rejected since Washington County did not have jurisdiction.
“Not only is dismissal warranted in this case because of the dearth of evidence that the child was intentionally killed by his father, but it is also justified because of the prosecutorial misconduct that has occurred herein, contaminating this matter from its very inception,” the filing states.
No hearing date has been set by Lucas to have the parties make arguments about the filing. Lucas previously served as first assistant under then District Attorney Gene Vittone before winning election to the bench in 2013.
Walsh said Thursday his office is working on an answer to the filing that would likely be submitted early next week.
“It’s all the same stuff,” Walsh said about the filing. “They’re just recycling the same stuff.”
Most shocking in Clarke’s filing is his attorneys threatening to have Walsh testify at the homicide trial to explain to the jury Warco’s accusation that the district attorney compelled him to file the bogus death certificate because he allegedly told the coroner “you know that I need this to be a homicide.”
“That’s nonsense,” Walsh said. “What would I be able to testify to? The crime happened and I’m not a witness to anything. The medical evidence is the medical evidence. It comes from doctors. That’s them throwing anything up in the air and seeing what sticks. I prosecute the crimes. I wasn’t there whenever whatever happened to the child happened.”
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s office ruled the boy’s manner of death as undetermined. The filing claims Walsh pressured Warco because of his tough on crime campaign stance while also accusing him of overzealously pursuing the death penalty against homicide defendants in the run-up to the 2023 election.
“These various acts by Mr. Walsh demonstrate improper maneuvering in this case to benefit his own political aspirations,” the filing states. “He disregarded the ethical requirements of his office and abandoned his role as a zealous advocate for the law and our constitution and instead allowed his decisions in this matter to be motivated by his electoral ambitions.”
Clarke has filed a litany of litigation against Walsh and other officials, including a civil lawsuit that was dismissed earlier this year. He is also being represented by Philadelphia-based Atlantic Center for Capital Representation in a “king’s bench” petition asking the state Supreme Court to place restrictions on Walsh’s ability to seek the death penalty against homicide defendants in Washington County.