This story was corrected at 8:42 p.m. Dec. 6, 2006.
An Allegheny County jury on Tuesday convicted a Clairton man of third-degree murder after his third trial in connection with the death of a Hill District woman in 2002.
John H. Ford, 29, was accused killing Katrice Lester, whose body was found inside an abandoned Clairton house in September 2002. Lester likely died of a stab wound to the chest. The mother of two had been missing for eight months.
Common Pleas Judge David Cashman will sentence Ford in March.
Two previous trials against Ford ended in hung juries.
North SideCandle service set at St. Nicholas Church
Supporters of the vacant St. Nicholas Church on the North Side will celebrate the feast day of the saint with a candlelight prayer service at 5 p.m. today in front of the church, which is along Route 28.
Those attending will pray for the preservation of the church, which the Croatian American Cultural and Economic Alliance has tried unsuccessfully to buy. The Follieri Group, a New York-based developer, has been negotiating with the diocese to purchase the property. The church was closed two years ago.
At 4:30 p.m., a free shuttle will pick up those wishing to attend the vigil from Javor Hall on the corner of East and Foreland streets. The bus will return to the hall at 5:30 p.m.
OaklandPost-pregnancy tests need improvement
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center doctors are calling for improved screenings for post-pregnancy psychiatric illnesses in the latest issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
In the article, published today, UPMC's Dr. Kathrine Wisner and Dr. Dorothy Sit, along with Christina Chambers, of the University of California San Diego's Departments of Pediatrics and Family Medicine, comment on a study by Danish researchers that found women are more likely to be hospitalized for a psychiatric problem within three months of giving birth than they are 12 months after a birth.
The highest rate of such hospitalization happens 10 to 19 days after giving birth, with about 7 in 1,000 first-time mothers being hospitalized. That is seven times the rate of hospitalizations 12 months after giving birth, according to the study.
HazelwoodCouncil wants hold on highway land buy
Pittsburgh City Council on Tuesday asked the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission to delay plans to buy land in Hazelwood and other neighborhoods that would carry a portion of the Mon-Fayette Expressway.
In a non-binding resolution, Councilman Jeffrey Koch said the commission should vote at its Dec. 19 meeting in Harrisburg to delay buying land rights in Pittsburgh until all funding for the road is in place.
Koch said buying the rights to the properties piecemeal -- and without sufficient money for the highway project -- would remove them from the property tax rolls too early. That could deny financially strapped Pittsburgh years of property taxes, he said.
MoonMan strangled in N.Y.
A Moon man found dead in a western New York state apartment was strangled, according to an autopsy, authorities said Tuesday.
Relatives of Ryan Boody, 23, last heard from him on Nov. 29, and police in Wellsville, N.Y,. found his body there on Saturday. Boody was found in the home of Mark Harkenrider, 26. Harkenrider, who attempted suicide, was found alive in the home, but he died Sunday at a hospital.
Harkenrider died of a heart attack stemming from multiple drug overdoses, according to an autopsy, authorities said.
Police are continuing to investigate the relationship between the two men. Boody was a graduate of the theater program at the Pittsburgh High School for the Creative and Performing Arts.
No other information was available yesterday from local police or authorities in Wellsville.
AleppoMan indicted in death of lover
An Aleppo man accused of killing his lover so she wouldn't expose their year-long affair has been indicted by a federal grand jury.
Eugene J. Talik, Jr., of 102 Berdine Drive, was named in a three-count indictment returned Tuesday by a federal grand jury in Wheeling, W.Va.
U.S. Attorney Sharon L. Potter said Talik, 38, and an unnamed accomplice are accused of conspiring to kill Kelly Jo Elliott, 28, a mother of two who was living with her parents in Valley Grove, about seven miles from Wheeling.
Talik and Elliott had a physical relationship for about a year.
Prosecutors said Elliott was killed at a truck stop at the Dallas Pike exit of Interstate 70. Her body was taken to a remote area in Elk County, where it was burned and then buried.
West ViewEx-judge's weapons hearing delayed
The preliminary hearing scheduled for today for former Senior District Judge Donald Presutti on a weapons charge was continued to Dec. 14, court officials said.
Presutti, 59, of Kilbuck, was arrested last week at West View Auto Body after an argument with his father-in-law, Earl Quillen, police said. Presutti is accused of carrying a loaded, concealed handgun, police said. Presutti, who retired in January, served in the magisterial district that covers Avalon, Bellevue, Ben Avon, Ben Avon Heights, Emsworth, Kilbuck and Ohio Township. As a senior district judge, he has worked as needed at any district judge's office in the county. Presutti is free on $10,000 unsecured bail.
Beaver CountyMan pleads guilty to police assault
A Beaver County man accused of slaying his former lover's urologist husband along the Ohio Turnpike in 2005 pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of simple assault in Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas.
Damian Bradford, 25, of Center, was sentenced to one year's probation for assaulting a McKeesport police officer in January. The district attorney's office dropped charges of aggravated assault, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and public drunkenness in that case.
Bradford agreed in July to cooperate in the federal prosecution of Donna Moonda. Her husband, Dr. Gulam Moonda, was shot and killed outside Cleveland in May 2005.
Donna Moonda is accused of hiring Bradford to kill her husband.
Fayette CountyDoctor faces trial on new charge
A former doctor convicted last week in Washington County of groping female patients during exams has been held for trial in a case in Fayette County.
William Frost Jr., 61, this week waived his preliminary hearing in Uniontown on one count of indecent assault.
A woman accused Frost of fondling her when she went for treatment of back pain in November 2004.
Frost pleaded guilty last week in Washington County Court to two counts of indecent assault. He was sentenced to probation for two years and must surrender his medical license.
Frost owns a home in Eighty Four, Washington County, but lives in Hilton Head, S.C.
Bedford CountyMurder suspect seeks freedom until trial
An Everett man who has spent more than 18 months in jail on kidnapping and murder charges wants to be released until his trial.
Joseph William Clark, 47, said his right to a speedy trial has been violated.
Clark is charged in connection with the murder and abduction of Holly Notestine. The 25-year-old mother of two was abducted from her Monroe Township home on April 30, 2000, and killed.
The only exception to the 180-day trial rule is when proof is evident and presumption is strong, Clark's attorney, Thomas Crawford, said this week. Those elements are lacking, he said.
Bedford County District Attorney William Higgins said bail is not an option in capital murder cases.
Clark, a former iron worker, was charged in spring 2005. Since his arrest, the case has been delayed by appeals to the state Superior Court.
Erie CountyFormer teacher pleads guilty to corrupting teen
A former high school teacher accused of having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old student has pleaded guilty to corruption of minors.
Jeffrey R. Harvey, 37, who taught social studies at Harbor Creek High School, had a relationship with the female student in April and May, before she turned 18, state police said. He resigned from teaching in June.
Harvey pleaded guilty this week to a first-degree misdemeanor count of corruption of minors before Erie County Common Pleas Judge William R. Cunningham. Prosecutors said the guilty plea will cause him to lose his teaching license.
Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 25. Harvey faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of $10,000. He is free on $50,000 unsecured bond.
City Council OKs raising taxes
Erie City Council has approved a tentative budget that would increase taxes by 12 percent and close one of the city's seven fire companies.
Pensions and health care costs continue to rise, Council President Rubye Jenkins-Husband said. The tax increase is necessary because unions did not agree to concessions on health care costs, she said.
The tentative budget approved Saturday does not include nearly $900,000 the city owes to the state. According to the state Auditor General's Office, the money was overpaid by the state to the city's retirement fund. Mayor Joe Sinnott said the administration disagrees with the finding and is hoping for a compromise.
The formal vote on the budget is scheduled for Dec. 20.
Highlands schools2 members resign; board reorganizes
Several Highlands School Board members said they hope the board will be more unified now that two members have resigned and new leadership has been appointed.
Board members Tim McCue and Judy Sims resigned at Monday's reorganization meeting, a move that didn't surprise many of the members who make up the board's majority.
McCue and Sims, along with longtime board member Judith Wisner, often were the board's minority voting faction during the past year after years of being in the majority.
Chris Salego and Gary Alexander, who were appointed board president and vice president, respectively, said they weren't surprised by the resignations.
Plum1 killed, 3 injured in Armstrong crash
A Plum man died Tuesday morning, and three others were injured in a head-on collision along snow- and ice-covered Alternate Route 66 in Bethel, Armstrong County.
Police identified the man who died as William McLaughlin, 61, of New Texas Road.
A southbound pickup fishtailed on Firehall Hill shortly before 9 a.m. and then slammed head-on into the northbound Chevrolet Tahoe that McLaughlin was driving, state police said.
His passenger, William Simpson, 83, of Pittsburgh, was treated at ACMH Hospital in East Franklin, Armstrong County, and then transferred in fair condition to UPMC Presbyterian hospital in Oakland, a hospital spokeswoman said.
The driver of the pickup and his passenger, both of Armstrong County were injured, police said.
