James F. 'Silky' Sullivan, 54, of East Second Street, was charged with the killing last year after a state police 'cold case' squad matched his DNA to semen retrieved from the body of Linda Mae Covach.
According to police, Covach died on Halloween 1978 after Sullivan beat her so severely that her head was broken open and her teeth were found in her lungs during an autopsy.
District Attorney Nancy Vernon said yesterday that she intends to prove that torture was used in the killing.
'The victim sustained multiple, serious, deadly injuries. It appears that she was dragged, hit with severe force and stabbed numerous times with a sharp object. There wasn't a spot on her body that wasn't bruised,' said Vernon.
In addition, Vernon said she intends to use Sullivan's criminal history against him. He was arrested for the killing while in prison on a parole violation from a 1987 murder.
Covach, who was 29, was seen with Sullivan after she left the 'R' lounge in Uniontown on the night of her death. Covach was a barmaid there.
The two drove to the Hutchinson Sportsman's Club in South Union Township, where they were seen having an argument.
At about 9:30, police contend that Sullivan drove Covach down a rural lane on club property where he pulled her from the car, raped her, then beat her to death with a 12-inch-long metal pipe that he kept in his car for protection.
Covach's body was found two days later by a hunter. An autopsy showed she died of multiple blunt-force injuries to the head and face.
