Aug. 31 PENNSYLVANIA: Man given death sentence for killing wife, daughters In Harrisburg, a jury deliberated for 2 hours Tuesday before sentencing a man to death for killing his estranged wife and the 2 daughters he had been accused of molesting. Ernest R. Wholaver Jr., 44, who did not testify during the trial, told the jury in a brief appearance on the witness stand Tuesday he loved all 3 victims and that the sexual-abuse allegations were hurtful to him. On Monday, the same jury of seven men and five woman convicted Wholaver of the Christmas Eve 2002 shootings of Jean Wholaver, 43, and their daughters Victoria, 20, and Elizabeth, 15. Victoria and Elizabeth had told police their father had sexually abused them over many years, and a trial in that case was less than a month away at the time of the murders. A transcript of their preliminary-hearing testimony was read to the jury, but they acquitted him of all 10 charges related to the sexual abuse allegations. Dauphin County prosecutor Fran Chardo said the case "cried out" for the death penalty. "If this man doesn't deserve it, nobody does," he told jurors. Defense attorney Spero T. Lappas urged the out-of-county jury to spare his client's life, portraying their decision as one of choosing life or choosing death. "'Let's all kill him.' That's what it boils down to. 'He's been convicted, let's throw him away,"' Lappas said. In addition to the three separate death sentences for each murder charge, Wholaver also received 10 to 20 years for trying to hire a hit man while in prison. He planned to have Victoria's ex-boyfriend killed and framed for the women's murders, a plot that was foiled by a jailhouse snitch. He also was sentenced to 1 to 2 years for endangering his 9-month-old granddaughter, who Chardo said was in Victoria's arms when her mother was fatally shot; and terms ranging up to six years for burglary, conspiracy, and obstruction. Lappas said possible grounds for appeal will be the judge's decision to combine the murder, sexual abuse and solicitation of murder cases into a single trial; the use of Victoria's and Elizabeth's preliminary-hearing testimony at trial; and whether the defense had adequate investigators and experts. Logan Davis, Jean Wholaver's brother-in-law, said afterward he was satisfied with the results. "As long as it was a conviction," he said outside the courthouse. "Death or life in prison -- it was still a conviction." Prosecutors said that on the night of the murders, Ernest Wholaver traveled from the Altoona area with his brother Scott to his estranged family's home in Middletown, outside Harrisburg. Scott Wholaver, who pleaded guilty to 3 counts of third-degree murder for his role, testified against his brother last week. He led police to the purported murder weapon, a .22-caliber revolver that had been discarded in the woods. Under Pennsylvania law, jurors can sentence a defendant to death only if the number of aggravating factors is larger than the number of mitigating factors. Chardo argued that aggravating factors against Wholaver were that he killed more than 1 person, killed Elizabeth at a time when she had a protective order pending against him, killed in the commission of a felony (burglary) and that he had endangered Victoria's infant daughter, whom police found alive by her mother's dead body the next day. (source: Associated Press) WASHINGTON: Prosecutors could seek death penalty for Kennewick man Benton County prosecutors have a month to decide whether to seek the death penalty against a Kennewick man accused of stabbing his wife to death. Juan Pablo Sanchez-Sanchez pleaded innocent Monday to an amended charge of aggravated first-degree murder, in addition to a gross misdemeanor charge of violating a protection order. It's that no-contact order, issued Aug. 2 by a Benton County District Court judge in an attempt to protect Sandra Torres Godinez, that prosecutors cite as the potential reason for considering the death penalty. On Monday, nearly 30 family and friends of Godinez packed the benches on one side of a Benton County Superior Court courtroom. After the brief hearing, several relatives spoke with prosecutors and a victim-witness coordinator before leaving the courtroom in tears. 2 young men sat on the other side in support of the 21-year-old Sanchez. Godinez and Sanchez had been married for some time, but she still went by her maiden name, according to her relatives. The couple lived in a small apartment at 1326 W. Seventh Place, just off Olympia Street. Godinez, 24, was found in the apartment late Aug. 23 lying along a living room wall with several stab wounds to the back of her neck, according to court documents. An autopsy showed she had died sometime earlier that day from her wounds. Several knives with bent or broken blades were found in the couple's master bedroom and under her body, and blood was smeared along the hallway wall and in the bedroom, court documents said. Sanchez was arrested the next morning, Aug. 24, as he tried to nearly empty the couple's savings account at Monad Federal Credit Union in Pasco. The office manager had read about the death in that morning's Herald, learned the couple had an account there and alerted all tellers, one of whom later recognized Sanchez as he waited in her line. Pasco police responded, arrested Sanchez and handed him off to Kennewick officers after they arrived. Court documents said Sanchez admitted to killing Godinez during an interview with Kennewick investigators. In court Monday, Scott Johnson, Benton County's chief criminal deputy prosecutor, said the 30-day period to file the death penalty started with Sanchez's innocent plea. Under Washington law, the death penalty can be sought only if there are aggravating circumstances, such as multiple victims, a drive-by shooting, a gang initiation or the victim was an on-duty law enforcement officer or firefighter. Prosecutors must be able to prove that at least one of 13 aggravated circumstances, as set by law, apply in the case. In Sanchez's case, the factor being considered by prosecutors covers a court order in place at the time of the slaying that, under state law, "prohibited the person from either contacting the victim or disturbing the peace of the victim, and the person had knowledge of the existence of that order." Sanchez was arrested July 31 for alleged domestic violence. Godinez told police at the time that Sanchez had "struck her several times and held her in a bedroom, face-down on a bed, against her will," court documents said. After that incident, the documents said, she had marks on her body consistent with being assaulted. During his initial appearance before a judge Aug. 2, Sanchez was ordered to stay away from Godinez while the case was pending. Despite the order, he continued to live with her. Sanchez's murder trial was scheduled for Oct. 18, but court-appointed attorney Sal Mendoza said he doesn't expect the trial to go forward that soon because of the severity of the charge and the anticipated volume of evidence and paperwork. Mendoza also told the judge he is trying to find a co-counsel from the state-approved list of lawyers qualified to handle death penalty cases in case prosecutors decide to go that route. Johnson told the judge the county planned to release Godinez's body today to her family for burial. However, Mendoza filed an order later Monday that was signed by Judge Dennis Yule asking that the body be held until at least Wednesday evening. Mendoza said he first wants to speak with Dr. Daniel Selove of Everett, a forensic pathologist, to discuss the autopsy results and then have time to view the body in preparation for his client's defense. Sanchez is being held without bail in the Benton County jail. (source: Mid Columbia Tri City Herald)
