Son pleads guilty in death of father

Brian Smolka went to court trying to prove that he'd killed his father out of mercy, but he stopped the trial on Thursday, admitting he'd committed "one of the most disgusting crimes possible."

Smolka, 22, of Greensburg, was sentenced to a mandatory life prison term yesterday after pleading guilty to first-degree murder and criminal conspiracy.

The plea halted the second day of trial for Smolka on charges that he'd teamed up with a former schoolmate to strangle 47-year-old Richard Smolka in September 2002. The body was found in a shallow grave in rural Salem Township in May 2004 after Brian Smolka and 22-year-old Joshua Kuzmen confessed.

As sheriff's deputies walked Smolka to the cruiser that would take him back to the Westmoreland County Prison, he had just one word for a crowd of reporters. Asked if he was sorry for what he did, Smolka said, "Absolutely."

Two of Richard Smolka's siblings said they were glad Brian Smolka accepted responsibility for the killing.

"Now my brother can rest in peace," said sister Sandra Zello.

"He got what we wanted him to get," said brother Steve Smolka.

Court-appointed defense attorney Daniel Joseph, of New Kensington, said he was disappointed in his client's decision. He said he thought the jury could be persuaded to deliver a third-degree murder verdict, which is punishable with a sentence of up to 40 years in prison. Ultimately, though, it was Brian Smolka's choice as to how he wanted to proceed, Joseph said.

Joseph said he has a large stack of medical documents that would show the court Richard Smolka had been telling doctors he wanted to die. A pretrial court order barred the documents from being used as evidence.

In his opening statement to the jury, Joseph said he would be arguing that Brian Smolka was helping an abusive, depressed, chemically dependent man escape the pain of living.

Outside of the courtroom, Joseph remained adamant that the killing had nothing to do with money taken from Richard Smolka's apartment. Authorities say Brian Smolka gave Kuzmen $2,000 in money taken from his dead father, who had received a $75,000 disability settlement shortly before his death.

"I feel really bad for Brian," Joseph said. "Brian wanted everybody to be sure that his father was a very sick man."

Joseph read a handwritten statement from Brian Smolka to the court that said, in part, "I've played a part in one of the most disgusting crimes possible, the murder of one's own father."

Brian Smolka's statement also said that he's never had ambition and he feels that pleading guilty is a positive thing he could do with his life.

"Now it's time for me to redeem myself," Joseph read.

District Attorney John Peck said he thinks a jury would have convicted Brian Smolka of first-degree murder even if he hadn't pleaded.

"I thought the evidence was rather overwhelming," Peck said.

Juror Georgia Yezerski, of Herminie, said she wanted to keep a clear mind until Brian Smolka testified, but she commended his decision to plea.

"The past couple of days have been rough," Yezerski said. "You reap what you sow and you live what you learn. Everybody makes their choice in life, and that was his choice."

Westmoreland County detectives maintain that Brian Smolka lured his father from a Greensburg apartment. Kuzmen, who was convicted of first-degree murder in January, waited outside with a garrotte-like medical device commonly used to treat varicose veins.

After Kuzmen choked Richard Smolka to death, he and Brian Smolka loaded the 47-year-old's body into the trunk of a car to take it to an already-dug hole on property belonging to Kuzmen's family.

Authorities unearthed him 20 months later, finding a black electric cord tightly wound around his neck. A white plastic bag was fastened over his head. His wrists and legs were bound with duct tape.

Brian Smolka's mother, Nevada Smolka, defended her son as "a good boy" and a mere conspirator in the crime. She said she had no chance to speak with him yesterday morning before the plea and wants to know why he didn't continue fighting the case.

"He didn't do it," she said. "The other kid did it."

Kuzmen is facing a mandatory life sentence. It is scheduled to be imposed on March 21.