Suspects In Beaver County Couple's Death In Court
BEAVER (KDKA) -- There was chilling testimony Wednesday during the preliminary hearing for two men accused in the deadly shooting of a couple in Beaver County.
In 2008, investigators say two men entered a home on Second Avenue in Beaver Falls and shot Demetria and Richard Harper each once in the head, execution-style.
Just last July, Robert Burgess, 35, and Devon Shealey, 26, both of Pittsburgh, were charged in connection with the case.
Because of Burgess and Shealey's alleged high-profile as suspected gang-bangers, by court order, security was extreme tight at the preliminary hearing.
"There's nothing to substantiate that rumor with respect to my client," said Blaine Jones, Burgess' attorney.
The first witness was one of the Harpers' daughters. She is 15 now, but was only 11-years-old back then.
In a calm voice with a lacy, white bow in her hair, she described two men dressed in black in masks, one carrying a gun in her home that night, her parents in their bedroom.
She said the man with the gun pointed it at her 8-year-old sister's head because she was in tears. Then, the man shouted at her dad, "Tell her to shut up, shut up."
The girls were put in a closet, she testified. They listened as the man kept asking, "Where's my money? I want my money."
Then, she says they listened as their parents were led downstairs. The girls were then taken to the basement where the oldest daughter says she saw her mom and dad face down, hands tied.
The sisters were forced into a furnace room. The oldest daughter said, "I heard my dad crying followed by two shots."
Another witness, Margarette Moore said she introduced Demetria Harper to Burgess; and that Harper allegedly told Burgess she could get marijuana dirt cheap in El Paso, Texas, where she once lived.
Two weeks before the murders, investigators say the alleged deal was set, and Burgess gave Harper $1,500. According to authorities, she was to buy the marijuana and FedEx it back to Pennsylvania. Investigators say Harper flew to El Paso later texting that she'd been busted there with the drugs.
Burgess' cousin told the court that Burgess believed that Demetria Harper stole his money and that he was "mad as hell and gonna get his."
"And it's anticipated to go tomorrow… tomorrow and Friday also. And you know, we'll go in there, we'll continue fighting," said Jones of the hearing.
Both of the accused were already in jail when they were charged in connection with the case.
RELATED LINKS:
Arrests Made In 2008 Beaver Co. Double Murder (7/2/12)
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