Appeal Of Pa. Man Convicted Of 1996 Murder Of Another Man Found Bound With Duct Tape, Shot In Head And Set Afire Rejected
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A state appeals court has rejected the appeal of a man in the murder of another man found bound with duct tape, shot twice in the head and set afire in the back seat of a car in Pennsylvania's capital city almost a quarter of a century ago.
PennLive.com reports that 53-year-old William Marks had pinned his hopes for release on a recantation by the main prosecution witness in the June 1996 slaying of Victor "Dominican Manny" Del Rosario.
A Dauphin County judge, however, didn't find that recantation to be credible, and the Superior Court let that assessment stand.
Marks was convicted of first-degree murder, robbery and arson after a co-defendant who pleaded guilty to third-degree murder testified against him. Marks, who got life plus 70 years, said in 2018 that the witness later said he falsely implicated Marks because the other man had hurt his sister and was involved with his ex-girlfriend.
But the appeals court agreed that the supposed recantation was suspect, in part because court records indicate that Marks was in prison during the time of the supposed actions by him to which the ex-co-defendant objected. Also, the court said, it wasn't believable that someone would implicate himself in a murder to get revenge against Marks.
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