Testimony Wraps Up In Beaver County Cold Case Trial
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Wednesday was the final day of testimony in the murder trial of former Bridgewater councilman Gregory Scott Hopkins.
Both the defense and prosecution finally rested on Wednesday afternoon.
Hopkins is accused in the 1979 strangling death of 23-year-old Catherine Walsh.
Walsh's body was found in her apartment in Monaca with a handkerchief tied around her neck and her wrists bound.
Up until last year, the case was cold, but new technology linked semen at crime scene to Hopkins.
Hopkins took the stand and admitted to a sexual relationship with Walsh but says it must have been old semen, because he was not in the apartment the night of the murder.
Dr. Cyril Wecht, testifying for the prosecution, concluded that the semen found on Walsh's night gown, sheets and the rope were the result of sexual activity during strangulation.
Hopkins insists he was not with Walsh and was staying with his then-girlfriend the night of the murder.
Closing arguments for the trial begin at 9:15 a.m. Thursday. Following instructions from the judge, the case goes to the jury.
It is possible to have a verdict Thursday, 34 years after the murder of Catherine Walsh.
RELATED LINKS
Ex-Pa. Councilman Denies Killing Woman In 1979 (11/20/13)
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