Warco’s former solicitor testifies about coroner’s handling of death investigations
Warco’s former solicitor testifies about coroner’s handling of death investigations
The former solicitor for Washington County Coroner Timothy Warco testified Friday that he noticed a change in demeanor in the lead-up to the 2023 election in which the row office official began getting alternative legal advice and started sparring with the county’s prosecutor.
Upon finishing his one term as county district attorney in January 2012, Steven Toprani began serving as Warco’s solicitor in the coroner’s office in what he described was a professional working relationship.
But Toprani said their relationship seemed to sour in 2022 as Warco – a lifelong Democrat who changed parties to run in the Republican primary in 2023 – was preparing to run for his ninth term as coroner. Toprani said Warco began soliciting advice from another attorney, Timothy Uhrich, who at the time was the solicitor for the Pennsylvania State Coroners’ Association, leading to differing legal opinions on how to proceed with some death investigations.
That culminated in Warco’s decision at Uhrich’s urging to launch a coroner’s inquest into an officer-involved shooting that left a fleeing motorist dead. The inquest’s outcome suggested criminal charges should be filed against the Mt. Pleasant Township police officer who fired the fatal shot, which upset Washington County District Attorney Jason Walsh, who later held a press conference dismissing Warco’s inquest and its findings.
Warco has also refused to hand over some autopsy reports and death investigation records to the district attorney’s office without payment of fees, leading to the county commissioners to vote Thursday to waive all payments in an effort to spur cooperation by the coroner.
“I noticed the coroner was less communicative with me,” Toprani said of when he left as solicitor in 2023. “At the time, (Warco) was starting to take advice from (Uhlrich). … Tim’s entire demeanor changed.”
Last year, Warco accused Walsh of pressuring him into ruling that the death of a Peters Township boy allegedly at the hands of his father more than four years ago was a homicide. The allegations about supposedly filing a false death certificate at Walsh’s command is now at the heart of the homicide case involving Jordan Clarke, who is accused of shaking his 11-week-old son Sawyer, who died in May 2022. Clarke, 40, could face the death penalty if convicted of first-degree murder in his son’s death.
Clarke’s attorneys are asking Washington County Court of Common Pleas Judge Michael Lucas for a variety of decisions involving the case after filing for extraordinary relief in October with the hope that the capital homicide charge will be dismissed over claims the case has been “contaminated” due to the falsified death certificate.
Toprani’s testimony during Friday morning’s hearing was meant by the prosecution to show Warco’s demeanor in recent years and how he has clashed with Walsh. Warco took the stand at a previous hearing on the matter in May, but stopped before he could answer his first question when it was brought to his attention he could be charged with a crime and his words could be used as evidence against him. Warco was expected to resume testifying Friday, but he did not appear at the Washington County Courthouse and the hearing proceeded with Toprani instead.
Toprani testified for about 30 minutes, sharing several stories about his interactions with Warco over the years, including his claim that the coroner demanded that Sheriff Tony Andronas arrest Mt. Pleasant Township police Chief Matthew Tharp over his refusal to respond to a subpoena involving the inquest. Toprani said he was “perplexed” about how “confrontational” Warco became with some other row officers, including his insistence that Andronas arrest a police chief over disagremeent regarding a civil matter.
“He became, in my opinion, unglued about the situation,” Toprani said about Warco’s reaction at the meeting.
But Clarke’s defense attorney, Bill Difenderfer, questioned the relevance of Toprani’s testimony and some of the examples that went back nearly two decades.
“Disagreements on how to run an office are in no way germane to this death penalty case,” Difenderfer said. “I don’t see any relevance.”
Lucas appeared to agree and tried to steer the questioning specifically to how it related to the Clarke case and Warco’s claims that he was coerced into filing a false death certificate.
“I’m still at a loss why (the coroner’s inquest) is coming out in a death penalty case for Jordan Clarke,” Lucas said.
Difenderfer also questioned Toprani’s motivation, claiming that he and Walsh were “friends” and that he campaigned for the district attorney in 2023.
“You’re very close friends with him,” Difenderfer asked rhetorically.
“We’re friendly,” Toprani responded, adding he also campaigned for Warco before the two had a falling out.
Shackled and wearing an orange jail jumpsuit, Clarke sat at the defense table next to Difenderfer and his other attorney, Wendy Williams, as they listened to testimony. The record was closed after Peters Township police Detective Edward Walker testified briefly about some facts of the case, and it was not known when Lucas would make a ruling on the numerous motions before him filed by the defense.
Clarke, who has been held without bond at the Washington County jail since his arrest in June 2022, claims he slipped on a plastic bag while holding the child and fell to the ground and on top of the boy, which he contends caused the fatal injuries. In addition to homicide, Clarke is facing felony charges of child endangerment and three counts of aggravated assault.