Bolivar man's 3rd-degree murder charge in 20-day-old daughter's death to stand

The third-degree murder conviction against a Bolivar man serving a 30-year prison sentence for killing his infant daughter will stand, a Westmoreland County judge ruled Friday.

Judge Christopher Feliciani, following a brief court hearing, rejected an appeal from Clayton Mibroda, who claimed his conviction was contrary to evidence presented during his 2013 murder trial.

Mibroda, 30, was found guilty of killing his 20-day-old daughter, Natalee Kay Mibroda, on Dec. 27, 2011.

Prosecutors said the baby died from injuries she suffered during an extensive beating by her father. Medical evidence at trial revealed the baby suffered a fractured clavicle, bleeding in her brain and cuts to her mouth.

The baby's mother, Kayla Lichtenfels, testified at trial that she visited a doctor the morning her daughter died for treatment of postpartum depression. When she returned to the home she shared with Mibroda, he refused to give her the baby, she testified.

The newborn eventually was found unresponsive and not breathing.

Mibroda claimed at trial it was the baby's mother who killed their daughter.

Through a series of failed previous appeals, Mibroda claimed the trial judge, who is now retired, erred when he refused to allow the defense to introduce evidence that the baby's mother was a drug user and, as a result, the child was born with a drug addiction.

Defense attorney Mike DeMatt said Friday his review of the case found there was no basis for an additional appeal. Another defense lawyer, James Fox, issued a similar report this year, DeMatt said.

As a result, Feliciani dismissed the most-recent appeal and allowed DeMatt to step down as Mibroda's court-appointed lawyer.

Mibroda was represented at trial by a public defender. He said that despite Feliciani's ruling he wanted to continue with the appeal.

“There was way more evidence against the mother of the victim than me,” Mibroda said.

Feliciani said he will not appoint another lawyer to represent Mibroda. If he wants to continue the appeal, Mibroda would have to hire a private attorney or represent himself, the judge said.

Rich Cholodofsky is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-830-6293 or rcholodofsky@tribweb.com.