times leader 04-13-2013

Hug o Selenski ’ s often -de- lay ed, dou ble-h omic ide tria l in Luzerne County Court can be sc hed ul ed now that the state Supreme Court denied a defense appeal to dismiss the case. Whether the trial will com- mence is another story yet to unfold. Selenski’ s lawyer s, Shelley Centini and Edwar d Rymsza , can file an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court or be allowed by Luzerne County Judge Fred Pier antoni III to lea ve the case . If either or both are acted upon, Selenski’s trial might be delayed once again. Coun ty pro secu tor s hav e 120 days from the state Su- pre me Cour t’ s ord er , date d April 10, to bring Selenski to tria l, whic h wou ld take it to Aug. 8. Cent ini and Rymsza chal - leng ed an Aug . 3, 2012 deci - sion by Pierantoni that denied a request to dismiss the case against Selenski citing double jeopard y. Selenskiis faci ng twocounts of cri minal homicide in the killings of Tammy Fassett, 37, and Michael Kerkowski, 37, on May 3, 2002. Their bodies were found in a sha llow grave outside a Ki n gs to n T o w ns h i p home wher e S e l e n s k i live d on June 5, 2003 , when the charred remains of Frank James, Adei ye Kei ler and an unidentified person also were discovered. Cen tin i and Ry msz a be- lieved the Fasse tt/K erkow ski case should have been tried at the same time Selenski had a trial for the dea ths of James and Keiler , because they arose out of the same invest igation. Inves tigator s believ ed James and Keiler were killed in May 200 3 duri ng the pur cha se of cr ack cocain e insi de a de- tached garage at the Kingston To wnship home on Mount Olivet Road. After a trial in March 2006, a ju ry foun d S el en s ki not guil ty in the death of Ke iler . A mistrial was declared when the jury was unab le to rea ch a unanimous decision for the homi cid e of James. Sele nski was convicted of burning their corpses. Selenski was charged with the kil li ngs of Fa ssett and Ker kowski after the verd icts PLAI NS TWP. — Investi gat ors arr este d Thomas Letteer Jr. after getting him out of bed early Frid ay morning and char ging him with cau sing the dea th of 5-y ear -old Ke vin Mill er in a hit-and-run accident before Christmas in Wilk es-Barr e. Luzerne County District Attorn ey Stefanie Sala vantis said inv esti gato rs put toge ther a “solid case” against Letteer. Lett eer , 23, of Mack Stree t, Plai ns T own- ship, sho wed no remors e as he was escort ed into magisterial district court at about 11 a.m. wearin g a black T-shir t, torn pajama pants and flip flops. He hid his face with his hands, which were hand cuffed. He told District Judge Diana Malast he was susp ende d by his employ er when “this hap- pened.” Wilk es-Barr e police and county detectiv es allege Letteer was behind the wheel of a 1999 Pontiac Gra nd Am that struck the boy on North Street on Dec. 21. Kevi n, of Dallas, was holding his father’s hand while crossing the street when he was struck. The Miller family had left a Christmas party they attended at a house on North Street. The boy was a son of Dr. Stephen and Caroli ne Mill- er . Letteer has been charged with one count of acciden ts involv ing death, Salavantis said. Let- teerwas jail ed at thecountycorrec tion al facility for lack of $200,000 bail. A preliminar y hearing schedul ed for April 18 will likely be continued. timesleader .com WILKES-BARRE, PA SA tuRdA y, APRIL 13, 2013 T HE TIMES LEADER CLARK VAN ORDEN/THE TIMES LEADER Bangin’ n the drus all da LOCAL, 3A Thatcher send-ff tune hits sur nte NATION, 5A INSIDE 8 0 7 5 1 7 Ar ea man char g ed in boy’s hit-run death CLARK VAN ORDEN/THE TIMES LEADER Thomas Letteer Jr. was charged Friday in the De- cember death of Kevin Miller, 5. DA: Case against Thas Letteer Jr. ‘slid’ BY EDWARD LEWI S [email protected] WA SHINGT ON — On the brink of an expected North Ko- rean missile test, U.S. officials focused on the limits of Pyong- yang’s nuclea r firepower Frida y, tryi ng to shif t atte ntio n fro m the disc losu re that the Nort h Koreans might be able to launch a nuclear strike. They insisted that whi le the unp red icta ble gov ernment migh t have rud i- mentary nuclear capabilities, it has not proved it has a weapon tha t cou ld re ac h the Uni ted States. A senior defense official said the United States sees a “strong likeli hood” that North Kor ea will launch a test missile in coming days in defiance of international call s for res tra int. The effo rt is expected to test the North’s bal listic missile tech nolo gies , not a nuclear weapon, said the offici al, who was grant ed ano- nymity to discuss intellige nce matters. Unless the missile unexpect- edlyhead s fora U. S.or al lie d tar- get, the Pentagon does not plan to try to shoot it down, several offici als said . As a precaution, the United States has arraye d in the Pacific a number of missile defense Nav y shi ps, tra ckin g radars and other elements of its world wide networ k for shooting T rying to save a champion tree Groundbreaking improv comic See SELENSKI, Page 12A See KOREA, Page 12A See CHARGED Page 12A defese Ielligece Agec’s isclosre of cor’s capa- biliies cases sir. SELENSKI CASE U.S. stresses limits of North Korea’s nuclear fi repower By KIMBERL Y DOZI ER and ROBE RT BURNS ssociated Pres s Neighbor s console Nancy O’Kane, whose Hazle Street home in Swo yersville was devas tated by fire Friday afternoon. O’Kane and her dog were inside, but in different parts of the house. O’Kane escaped out a back door, and firefighters retrieved the dog from the flame- and smoke-filled home. Read the story of Kane’s escape and the dog’s rescue on Page 2A. FIRE LEAvES SWoyERSvILLE FAmILy HomELESS Homicide trial clear ed to start Barrig ew evelopme, prosecors have il Ag. 8 o procee. By EDWA RD LEWI S [email protected] Selenski 50 CEntS

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