Jurors say Ferrante not credible
Three of the jurors whose verdict Friday evening will send University of Pittsburgh researcher Robert Ferrante to prison for the rest of his life said it was a combination of all the evidence that led to their decision.
“It was a very complex trial,” said jury foreman Brian Maitz, 30, of Ross, manager of a Sheetz convenience store in the North Hills. “You really had to look at all ends of the prosecution and the defense. We really took the time ... to determine the right verdict, and that's what I did.”
The jury of eight men and four women deliberated for 15 1⁄2 hours over two days, coming to their decision about 6:30 p.m. Friday. The trial before Allegheny County Common Pleas President Judge Jeffrey A. Manning began Oct. 23 and included 50 witnesses for the prosecution and 19 witnesses for the defense, including Ferrante.
Three jurors spoke to reporters at the DoubleTree Hotel, Downtown, after delivering the verdict. Manning had them sequestered there once deliberations began.
They said that Ferrante's testimony on the 10th day of the trial was not believable. Inconsistencies in his statements helped them elect to convict him.
Ferrante initially told police he was in the kitchen when his wife, UPMC neurologist Autumn Marie Klein, arrived at their Oakland home from work on April 17, 2013. In his testimony, however, he said he was in bed when she arrived home and went downstairs to greet her before she collapsed.
“All of a sudden the story changes. If you're telling the detectives from day one, and it's your turn to take the witness stand and your story is changing, it's pretty crucial,” said juror Lance DeWeese, 30, of Green Tree, a terminal operator for a shipping company.
Juror Helen Ewing, 25, of Brighton Heights said she and other jurors accepted the Quest Diagnostics test that initially showed Klein had 2.2 milligrams of cyanide per liter of blood in her body. She said they dismissed a much lower test from NMS Labs.
Ewing said she struggled with her decision to convict.
“I had to be absolutely certain, and that took me an incredibly long time,” the legislative aide for state Rep. Erin Molchany said. “At the end, for me, it was very hard for me to accept and believe that he could have done it, but I felt that the facts were clear and I couldn't argue with them.”
In the first six hours of their deliberations, the jury asked Manning two questions. First, jurors sought a copy of the 911 call transcript, then a copy of Ferrante's lab assistant's testimony.
Ewing said she believed Ferrante's 911 call was part of the “ploy.”
“I think in my mind his demeanor during that call also seemed forced to me,” she said.
The jurors were not permitted to talk about their deliberations, only their personal feelings.
For DeWeese, he said he made the right decision.
“One thing Judge Manning said in the courtroom was when we do make a decision ... we have to feel right because we're going to live with this the rest of our lives,” he said. “Tonight, I feel right. I feel at peace.”
Adam Brandolph is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-391-9027 or abrandolph@tribweb.com.
