Former University Of Pittsburgh Medical Researcher Convicted Of Poisoning Wife Asks For New Trial
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - A man convicted of killing his wife is once again asking for a new trial.
The State Supreme Court already upheld Robert Ferrante's conviction last year.
Now, Ferrante says he deserves a new trial because of ineffective assistance of trial counsel.
According to our partners at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the 27-page petition for post-conviction relief, which was filed in Common Pleas Court, lays out a number of claims against trial counsel William Difenderfer and Wendy L. Williams.
Claims include that trial counsel failed to bring in a jury from a different county and the defense failed to challenge medical evidence that would have undermined the prosecution's conclusion that Dr. Autumn Klein, Ferrante's wife, died from cyanide poison.
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Another claim is that during the trial, Difenderfer repeatedly said that he did not understand the science in the case.
Ferrante is currently serving a life sentence at a correction institution in Clearview County.
He was found guilty of first-degree murder back in Nov. 2014 for the April 2013 death of his wife, who then led the women's neurology program for UPMC.
Now Ferrante is seeking an evidentiary hearing for his claims.
