Testimony begins in third Wlasiuk trial
NORWICH – The prosecution in the third trial of twice convicted and alleged murderer Peter M. Wlasiuk called a total of seven witnesses to the stand Thursday, following opening statements by Chenango County District Attorney Joseph McBride and attorney for the defense, Mark Loughran.
Wlasiuk, formerly of Oxford, was first charged with second degree murder in 2002, accused of killing his wife, Patricia, and staging a Guilford Lake accident in an effort to cover up the crime. He has twice been convicted – in 2003 and 2008 – sentenced to serve 25 years to life in state prison.
Both convictions, however, were overturned on appeal, in 2006 and 2011, respectively.
In his opening statement, McBride called the case against Wlasiuk a simple one. Wlasiuk’s motives, he added, consisted of an unhappy marriage, another woman, and more than $300,000 in life insurance. Jurors, said McBride, will hear testimony that will include an alleged eyewitness who saw Wlasiuk strike Patricia and threaten to kill her.
The evidence, he added, is substantial.
The prosecution alleges that Wlasiuk – who told authorities he and his wife had swerved to miss a deer before veering into Guilford Lake along County Road 35, an accident McBride said was staged – killed Patricia at their New Virginia Road home; loaded her body into the back of his pick-up truck; and drove to the lake, where he then rolled the truck into the frigid waters through the only opening located on that side of the lake.
The alleged crime, said the district attorney, was “a set-up from day one.”
Wlasiuk, he added, changed his story several times following the incident.
Loughran, in his opening statement, said he and his client agreed with some of the facts presented by McBride – and that Patricia died that evening – but did not agree to the majority of the district attorney’s comments. He urged the jury to remember that an attorney’s statements are not evidence, and asked them to “pay very close attention” to the testimony they will hear throughout the trial. The nature – and quality – of the testimony is most important, not the quantity.
The case, he argued, is not a simple one, and includes contradictory evidence. The burden of proof, he reminded jurors, lies with the prosecution. In the end, he added, jurors will be convinced Patricia drowned in Guilford Lake, and was not murdered by her husband.
Witnesses called to the stand on Thursday included Patricia’s mother, Joyce Cardozo; her sister, Laurie Cardozo; Mary Paul, a retired registered nurse who worked with Patricia; Marge Phillips, a one-time employee at the Hess Mart where Wlasiuk and his wife allegedly stopped the night of her murder; Lorraine Cornish, once a bartender at the Angel Inn, the bar purchased by Wlasiuk; Phil Richman, a volunteer firemen who responded to the alleged accident at Guilford Lake on April 3, 2002; and Thomas Becker, now a trooper with the New York State Police and the one to call 911 after he was awakened by Wlasiuk.
The trial resumed at 9 a.m. today. More details will appear in Monday’s Evening Sun.
Wlasiuk, formerly of Oxford, was first charged with second degree murder in 2002, accused of killing his wife, Patricia, and staging a Guilford Lake accident in an effort to cover up the crime. He has twice been convicted – in 2003 and 2008 – sentenced to serve 25 years to life in state prison.
Both convictions, however, were overturned on appeal, in 2006 and 2011, respectively.
In his opening statement, McBride called the case against Wlasiuk a simple one. Wlasiuk’s motives, he added, consisted of an unhappy marriage, another woman, and more than $300,000 in life insurance. Jurors, said McBride, will hear testimony that will include an alleged eyewitness who saw Wlasiuk strike Patricia and threaten to kill her.
The evidence, he added, is substantial.
The prosecution alleges that Wlasiuk – who told authorities he and his wife had swerved to miss a deer before veering into Guilford Lake along County Road 35, an accident McBride said was staged – killed Patricia at their New Virginia Road home; loaded her body into the back of his pick-up truck; and drove to the lake, where he then rolled the truck into the frigid waters through the only opening located on that side of the lake.
The alleged crime, said the district attorney, was “a set-up from day one.”
Wlasiuk, he added, changed his story several times following the incident.
Loughran, in his opening statement, said he and his client agreed with some of the facts presented by McBride – and that Patricia died that evening – but did not agree to the majority of the district attorney’s comments. He urged the jury to remember that an attorney’s statements are not evidence, and asked them to “pay very close attention” to the testimony they will hear throughout the trial. The nature – and quality – of the testimony is most important, not the quantity.
The case, he argued, is not a simple one, and includes contradictory evidence. The burden of proof, he reminded jurors, lies with the prosecution. In the end, he added, jurors will be convinced Patricia drowned in Guilford Lake, and was not murdered by her husband.
Witnesses called to the stand on Thursday included Patricia’s mother, Joyce Cardozo; her sister, Laurie Cardozo; Mary Paul, a retired registered nurse who worked with Patricia; Marge Phillips, a one-time employee at the Hess Mart where Wlasiuk and his wife allegedly stopped the night of her murder; Lorraine Cornish, once a bartender at the Angel Inn, the bar purchased by Wlasiuk; Phil Richman, a volunteer firemen who responded to the alleged accident at Guilford Lake on April 3, 2002; and Thomas Becker, now a trooper with the New York State Police and the one to call 911 after he was awakened by Wlasiuk.
The trial resumed at 9 a.m. today. More details will appear in Monday’s Evening Sun.
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