Wlasiuk found guilty; plans appeal
NORWICH – For the second time in his life, Peter M. Wlasiuk heard a jury of his peers declare him guilty of murdering his wife in 2002 and staging an accident at Guilford Lake to cover it up.
The jury reached its decision at 11:13 a.m. Friday, after more than five hours of deliberations.
“I am glad the jury was able to see past the defendant’s attempt to scheme his way through our justice system,” said District Attorney Joseph McBride. “I’m glad justice was served on behalf of victim and her family. Hopefully they can now move forward with their lives and enjoy some peace.”
McBride thanked Staff Attorney Christopher Belling of the New York Prosecutors’ Training Institute who specializes in New York State case law and capital crimes aided for aiding in the conviction.
“It was an emotional experience for me personally – for us at the DA’s office, the police, the staff, the friends and family,” added McBride.
Wlasiuk, 39, was convicted of second degree murder for the April 2002 death of his wife, Patricia. Prosecutors contend Wlasiuk killed his wife at their Oxford home and later staged a truck accident at Guilford Lake, in which he claimed she drowned.
Six years ago, another Chenango County jury also convicted Wlasiuk of second degree murder, but the New York State Appellate Division overturned that verdict on Aug. 31, 2006.
Chenango County Sheriff Thomas Loughren appeared on the steps of the courthouse Friday to comment on the case. His office was continually criticized for its conduct by defense attorney Randel Scharf, who indicated police corruption and incompetence in his closing remarks to the jury. Loughren singled out the lead detective in the case in 2002 who has risen since to the rank of Patrol Lt., James E. Lloyd.
“I’m just glad the people of this jury saw past all the lies painted on the Sheriff’s Office by the defense attorney and found justice,” said Loughren.
Juror number six, Dr. James Lentini, said the jury was deadlocked, nine for conviction and three against, until the discovery of a notation on an evidence form submitted by the defense. The notes on the form describe the circumstances of the investigation to the New York State Police Forensic Science lab in Albany.
“Until that point I didn’t think we could’ve broken the deadlock, but here were the victim’s own concerns that her husband might try to kill her,” said Lentini.
The notes basically contained a run down of the sheriff’s investigation, including remarks that Patricia Wlasiuk’s diary allegedly contained passages that detailed a “fear of death” at the hands of her husband and a growing concern over Peter’s sexual relationship with Joyce Worden.
Patricia’s diaries were presented as evidence by the prosecution in the 2002 trial, but on appeal the appellate division was critical of the passages being submitted to the jury, saying that a number of the entries were several years old and created unjust bias. The prosecution elected not to present the journals as evidence in the second trial and avoided drawing attention to them in witness testimony.
The document containing the notes was submitted by the defense. Scharf said the form was presented because it was part of a paper trail that showed testing on a hair sample never returned to the Sheriff’s Office.
The jury asked Broome County Court Judge Martin E. Smith if the document, which was in evidence, could be considered by the jury. Smith, after inquiring and receiving no objection from either attorney, answered the jury’s question. “The answer is yes,” he said.
Less than 30 minutes later, the jury returned with a conviction on the charge of second degree murder.
In a statement released to the media, the family of Patricia Wlasiuk offered the following: “Patty’s family would like to thank the members of the jury for their hard work and attention throughout the trial. We would also like to thank Judge Smith for his attention to detail and protocol in order to ensure a fair trial. As always, we especially thank Joe McBride and his staff and the Chenango County Sheriffs for all of their efforts in seeking justice. Patty ‘spoke’ many times throughout the trial via the burdock, the many wounds she sustained in her final struggle and finally the diaries she kept that allowed the truth to be heard. Although this will never bring Patty back, we can move on knowing that justice has prevailed.”
Scharf said the defense plans to appeal the case on the grounds that the court failed to provide adequate instruction to the jury on the lab submission form evidence question, even though he raised no such concern when given the opportunity by the court Friday.
“It’s a lab submission form. You could have copied down anything you wanted on the thing. It’s not something to rest someone’s life on,” he said.
“The judge made a big mistake when he told the jury to regard that note as evidence without offering a limiting instruction,” Scharf added later.
McBride defended the judge’s position. “I’m shocked that the defendant who asked for this evidence to go before jury in the first place, who was then given opportunity to have it removed by the judge, responded to that offer by saying ‘give it all to them (jury),’ and is now trying to shift blame from their unsuccessful trial tactics to the judge,” he said.
The defense also plans to appeal the case based on the prosecution’s “bolstering testimony” of pathologist Dr. Michael M. Baden, who echoed the expert testimony of Dr. James Terzian; and an alleged procedural error on the part of the 6th Judicial District, which according to Scharf, neglect to reinstate Smith after he returned from vacation in July last year as the active judge in the case.
“When you spend a lot of time with them (defendants), you know which ones did and which didn’t do it, and Peter didn’t kill his wife,” said Scharf.
Testimony began Sept. 9 in the retrial with McBride calling 58 witnesses and the defense nine.
The first trial lasted from Nov. 6 -21, 2002. McBride called 51 witnesses to the stand and Defense Attorney Fred Neroni called seven.
The original jury deliberated for three hours and 23 minutes before reaching a verdict of guilty. County Court Judge Sullivan sentenced Wlasiuk to state prison for 25 years to life, the maximum, on Jan. 17, 2003.
Wlasiuk’s new sentencing is scheduled for 11 a.m. Oct. 24 before Judge Smith. Wlasiuk could be sentenced up to 25 years to life in state prison.
Scharf and McBride will again face each other in another homicide case scheduled to begin Nov. 4. In that case, George Ford Jr., 42, of Piscataway, N.J., is charged with second degree murder over the death of his 12-year-old Otselic Valley baby-sitter, Shyanne A. Somers, on July 8, 2007.
Due to the fact that both McBride and Scharf are involved in the Wlasiuk trial, the Ford case has been scheduled to begin its pretrial hearings following the Wlasiuk disposition.
The jury reached its decision at 11:13 a.m. Friday, after more than five hours of deliberations.
“I am glad the jury was able to see past the defendant’s attempt to scheme his way through our justice system,” said District Attorney Joseph McBride. “I’m glad justice was served on behalf of victim and her family. Hopefully they can now move forward with their lives and enjoy some peace.”
McBride thanked Staff Attorney Christopher Belling of the New York Prosecutors’ Training Institute who specializes in New York State case law and capital crimes aided for aiding in the conviction.
“It was an emotional experience for me personally – for us at the DA’s office, the police, the staff, the friends and family,” added McBride.
Wlasiuk, 39, was convicted of second degree murder for the April 2002 death of his wife, Patricia. Prosecutors contend Wlasiuk killed his wife at their Oxford home and later staged a truck accident at Guilford Lake, in which he claimed she drowned.
Six years ago, another Chenango County jury also convicted Wlasiuk of second degree murder, but the New York State Appellate Division overturned that verdict on Aug. 31, 2006.
Chenango County Sheriff Thomas Loughren appeared on the steps of the courthouse Friday to comment on the case. His office was continually criticized for its conduct by defense attorney Randel Scharf, who indicated police corruption and incompetence in his closing remarks to the jury. Loughren singled out the lead detective in the case in 2002 who has risen since to the rank of Patrol Lt., James E. Lloyd.
“I’m just glad the people of this jury saw past all the lies painted on the Sheriff’s Office by the defense attorney and found justice,” said Loughren.
Juror number six, Dr. James Lentini, said the jury was deadlocked, nine for conviction and three against, until the discovery of a notation on an evidence form submitted by the defense. The notes on the form describe the circumstances of the investigation to the New York State Police Forensic Science lab in Albany.
“Until that point I didn’t think we could’ve broken the deadlock, but here were the victim’s own concerns that her husband might try to kill her,” said Lentini.
The notes basically contained a run down of the sheriff’s investigation, including remarks that Patricia Wlasiuk’s diary allegedly contained passages that detailed a “fear of death” at the hands of her husband and a growing concern over Peter’s sexual relationship with Joyce Worden.
Patricia’s diaries were presented as evidence by the prosecution in the 2002 trial, but on appeal the appellate division was critical of the passages being submitted to the jury, saying that a number of the entries were several years old and created unjust bias. The prosecution elected not to present the journals as evidence in the second trial and avoided drawing attention to them in witness testimony.
The document containing the notes was submitted by the defense. Scharf said the form was presented because it was part of a paper trail that showed testing on a hair sample never returned to the Sheriff’s Office.
The jury asked Broome County Court Judge Martin E. Smith if the document, which was in evidence, could be considered by the jury. Smith, after inquiring and receiving no objection from either attorney, answered the jury’s question. “The answer is yes,” he said.
Less than 30 minutes later, the jury returned with a conviction on the charge of second degree murder.
In a statement released to the media, the family of Patricia Wlasiuk offered the following: “Patty’s family would like to thank the members of the jury for their hard work and attention throughout the trial. We would also like to thank Judge Smith for his attention to detail and protocol in order to ensure a fair trial. As always, we especially thank Joe McBride and his staff and the Chenango County Sheriffs for all of their efforts in seeking justice. Patty ‘spoke’ many times throughout the trial via the burdock, the many wounds she sustained in her final struggle and finally the diaries she kept that allowed the truth to be heard. Although this will never bring Patty back, we can move on knowing that justice has prevailed.”
Scharf said the defense plans to appeal the case on the grounds that the court failed to provide adequate instruction to the jury on the lab submission form evidence question, even though he raised no such concern when given the opportunity by the court Friday.
“It’s a lab submission form. You could have copied down anything you wanted on the thing. It’s not something to rest someone’s life on,” he said.
“The judge made a big mistake when he told the jury to regard that note as evidence without offering a limiting instruction,” Scharf added later.
McBride defended the judge’s position. “I’m shocked that the defendant who asked for this evidence to go before jury in the first place, who was then given opportunity to have it removed by the judge, responded to that offer by saying ‘give it all to them (jury),’ and is now trying to shift blame from their unsuccessful trial tactics to the judge,” he said.
The defense also plans to appeal the case based on the prosecution’s “bolstering testimony” of pathologist Dr. Michael M. Baden, who echoed the expert testimony of Dr. James Terzian; and an alleged procedural error on the part of the 6th Judicial District, which according to Scharf, neglect to reinstate Smith after he returned from vacation in July last year as the active judge in the case.
“When you spend a lot of time with them (defendants), you know which ones did and which didn’t do it, and Peter didn’t kill his wife,” said Scharf.
Testimony began Sept. 9 in the retrial with McBride calling 58 witnesses and the defense nine.
The first trial lasted from Nov. 6 -21, 2002. McBride called 51 witnesses to the stand and Defense Attorney Fred Neroni called seven.
The original jury deliberated for three hours and 23 minutes before reaching a verdict of guilty. County Court Judge Sullivan sentenced Wlasiuk to state prison for 25 years to life, the maximum, on Jan. 17, 2003.
Wlasiuk’s new sentencing is scheduled for 11 a.m. Oct. 24 before Judge Smith. Wlasiuk could be sentenced up to 25 years to life in state prison.
Scharf and McBride will again face each other in another homicide case scheduled to begin Nov. 4. In that case, George Ford Jr., 42, of Piscataway, N.J., is charged with second degree murder over the death of his 12-year-old Otselic Valley baby-sitter, Shyanne A. Somers, on July 8, 2007.
Due to the fact that both McBride and Scharf are involved in the Wlasiuk trial, the Ford case has been scheduled to begin its pretrial hearings following the Wlasiuk disposition.
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