D.A.'s Office Seeking Death Penalty In East Liberty Sisters' Deaths
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The murders of two sisters in East Liberty earlier this year is now a death penalty case.
The Allegheny County District Attorney's Office will argue that the suspect, a man who's already a convicted felon, should be executed.
Allen Wade is charged in the deaths of his neighbors, Susan and Sarah Wolfe.
It was Feb. 7 when the Wolfe sisters were found shot to death inside their Chislett Street home.
Now, the District Attorney Stephen Zappala says the chain of events that led up to the sisters' deaths, along with Wade's prior record, provided numerous reasons for capital punishment.
To seek the death penalty, prosecutors must prove at least one aggravating factor -- the District Attorney's office alleges five.
They include:
- The victim was a prosecution witness to a murder or felony. Investigators think Susan Wolfe was killed first and that Sarah arrived home during the attack.
- The killing was committed while carrying out a felony.
- The defendant has a significant history of felony convictions involving violence.
- The defendant has been convicted of another offense for which a sentence of life or death was possible.
- Finally, the defendant has been convicted of another murder in any jurisdiction.
Wade, who was the next-door neighbor to the sisters, repeatedly denied his involvement in the killings.
It was DNA from Wade that was found underneath Susan Wolfe's fingernails, along with surveillance video that sealed the case for Pittsburgh Police.
RELATED LINKS:
DNA, Video Leads To Trial In Sisters' Slayings (4/4/14)
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