Kittanning murderer, rapist Silvis gets life in prison

After four and a half hours of deliberation Friday, an Armstrong County jury convicted Chase Silvis of first-degree murder for the April 13, 2000, slaying of Jennifer Delacour.

The charge carries a mandatory life sentence in prison for Silvis.

The jury also found that Silvis, 21, raped the 20-year-old Kittanning woman before he killed her in his apartment at 139 S. Jefferson St., Kittanning. The additional charge carries a penalty of 10 to 20 years in prison.

After the sentence was read, most of the about 50 people in the courtroom burst into tears.

Silvis put his head down and appeared to be in shock.

Delacour's emotional family members said the sentence will help to bring some closure.

"I'm happy with the verdict," said

Delacour's father John Delacour, as he dried tears from his face outside the courtroom. "At the same time I'm also sad because two lives are lost. God bless Chase Silvis and his family."

John Delacour's wife, Daisy, thanked District Attorney Scott Andreassi, the jury, and the Pierpont family.

Bobby Pierpont Jr. was called by Silvis the night of the murder and refused to help Silvis dispose of Delacour's body. Pierpont had his father, the Rev. Bob Pierpont Sr., call police. The call led to Silvis' apprehension a brief time later.

"It definitely brings some closure," Daisy Delacour said.

One of Jennifer Delacour's friends, Amy Fox, said she believes God was with Jennifer and her family.

"She got her justice," Fox said.

Emotions also ran high for the Silvis family.

After the verdict was read, tears streamed down the face of Silvis' father Jeffrey Silvis. He stood up, hugged one of his son's friends and said to his son, "I love you Chase, it doesn't matter." He then asked to be escorted out of the courtroom by one of the deputy sheriffs.

Andreassi said the commonwealth thought it could win a conviction on first-degree murder.

"This was a home run," he said. "It can finally bring some peace to the Delacour family."

Silvis' attorney Jamie Wright was unavailable to comment after the verdict.

The jury determined that Silvis murdered Delacour after a night of heavy drinking, marijuana smoking and snorting an unknown pill.

In his testimony, Silvis said he was highly intoxicated and doesn't remember strangling Delacour.

Police transcripts of an interview with Silvis the morning of the murder indicate he confessed 12 times to strangling the young woman.

He confessed again 11 hours after being picked up by police. Silvis said he doesn't remember any of the interviews with the police, although four police officers testified he seemed sober and seemed to understand exactly what they said.

In his closing statement, Wray told the jury there was no direct evidence to link Silvis to the murder because there were no witnesses.

Wray also questioned the statement Silvis made to Pierpont Jr. after asking Pierpont for his help in dumping Delacour's body into the Allegheny River.

"I don't know why I did it," Silvis told Pierpont Jr.

Wray said the statement could be interpreted in many ways. He said Silvis may have said it as a way to think back and recall what happened.

In his closing statement, Andreassi said most of the evidence was circumstantial to a degree.

But Andreassi pointed to the confessions and the fact that Pierpont's testimony fit into the events that happened the night of the murder.

"Twelve times, 12 times he tells us that he choked her," Andreassi said, referring to the taped confession.

"Every single piece of evidence in this case points to that man," Andreassi said to the jury while pointing at Silvis.

"It boils down to, ÔI didn't do it, but if you don't buy that, I was too drunk to know what I was doing,'" Andreassi said.

Silvis has 10 days to file a post-trial motion and 30 days to file an appeal.