Special hearing held over plea deal for man accused of killing his mother in South Fayette
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A special hearing was held over a plea deal for a man accused of killing his mother in South Fayette.
David Sumney is accused of beating his mother, Margeret, to death while taking more than 250 cellphone pictures of the act. On Friday, the woman's daughter and sister appeared in a special hearing before Common Pleas Judge Edward Borkowski.
In court, the family members asked Borkowski to put aside a third-degree murder plea deal that could see Sumney released from prison in as few as 17 years. They wanted a trial and a first-degree murder conviction, which carries a sentence of life without parole.
Prosecutors said they agreed to the plea deal because Sumney has a history of mental illness and alcoholism, and had no apparent motive to kill his mother, all of which would have made a first-degree conviction less likely.
After reviewing letters from the family, Borkowski said while those pleas are "fueled by emotion, prosecutors must go beyond emotion and deal with the realities of the criminal justice system."
He ruled against the family on Friday, saying, "These are not easy decisions. There is acrimony and dissention as we see in this case, but the court finds this is a proper decision and we will proceed to sentencing."
The family called the judge's ruling shocking.
"I guess in this courtroom it's OK in Pennsylvania to steal all of someone's money, torture them for days, beat them to death and get it knocked down to third-degree murder," Margaret's daughter, Ellen, said.
Sumney will be sentenced on Nov. 17.
