Pitt researcher accused in wife's death asks judge to release money for defense
The University of Pittsburgh researcher accused of killing his wife with cyanide appears poised to spend whatever it takes to bolster his mounting defense case.
Robert Ferrante, 65, on Wednesday asked a judge to unfreeze additional funds to hire experts and investigators to use at his pending trial. Ferrante has about $2.2 million spread over six bank accounts, according to financial records compiled by the Allegheny County District Attorney's Office. He previously received permission to spend $280,000 to defend himself against one count of criminal homicide.
“It's not necessarily an excessive amount of money when one wants good representation,” said University of Pittsburgh law professor John Burkoff. “The truth of the matter is that there are some very expensive lawyers, and some of those lawyers are expensive for a good reason — namely, they're good.”
Ferrante is accused of lacing a creatine drink with cyanide to kill his wife, Autumn Marie Klein, 41, a prominent UPMC neurologist. She died April 20.
Ferrante's lawyer, William Difenderfer, said in his motion that the defense will be “very complex,” but he did not specify the amount of money sought.
Difenderfer said the district attorney's office “has two attorneys and their entire office and support staff at their disposal to work on this case, as well as a budget that allows them to hire experts and investigators without prior court approval.”
Ferrante should not have to seek court approval to use his money to help his defense, Difenderfer said. Ferrante, who has pleaded not guilty, is being held without bail in the Allegheny County Jail.
Wesley Oliver, director of the criminal justice program at Duquesne University, said it's likely that Common Pleas President Judge Jeffrey A. Manning will release the money.
“My guess is that a lot of money is going to be burned up in the investigation,” Oliver said. “In this case, my sense is a lot of money is going to go to motive that other people might have had.”
That may include having an investigator visit several cities to talk to people with relevant information, he said.
“One of the ways to prove it wasn't your guy is to point the finger at somebody else,” Oliver said.
Experts will be needed, he said, “and they don't come cheap.”
Difenderfer said the money does not include funds Ferrante might inherit from Klein's estate.
In a separate motion Difenderfer filed, Ferrante's adult children from a previous marriage asked the court to authorize contact with their half sister, Cianna, 6, who is living with her maternal grandparents, Lois and Bill Klein of Towson, Md. Common Pleas Judge David Cashman in August issued a no-contact order because the child may be a witness to her mother's death.
Kimberly Ferrante, a medical fellow specializing in female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery at the University of California at San Diego and her brother Michael R. Ferrante, a financial adviser at Feingold O'Keeffe Capital in Boston, want to know if the order applies to them. Neither could be reached for comment.
Difenderfer said in his motion that Cianna was asleep on the night of April 17, when police said Ferrante called 911 to report Klein had collapsed in their home in Oakland, and witnessed nothing. Paramedics found Klein unresponsive on the kitchen floor. She died three days later.
Police said Ferrante bought cyanide with a Pitt credit card on April 15 and had it shipped to his Pitt laboratory.
Attorneys could argue as early as Friday the merits of Assistant District Attorney Lisa Pellegrini's request for a sample of Ferrante's DNA “for elimination purposes.”
The next hearing in the case is set for Feb. 10.
Adam Brandolph is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. Reach him at 412-391-0927 or abrandolph@tribweb.com.
