WILKES-BARRE - Hugo Selenski will face the death penalty if convicted of first-degree murder in his upcoming trial, a judge ruled Friday.
Luzerne County Judge Fred A. Pierantoni denied a request to stop the prosecution from pursuing capital punishment. Mr. Selenski is accused of killing pharmacist Michael Kerkowski and Mr. Kerkowski's girlfriend, Tammy Fassett, in 2002. The trial is scheduled to start Sept. 10.
When prosecutors filed a notice of aggravating circumstances to pursue the death penalty, they noted Mr. Selenski's "significant history of felony convictions involving the use or threat of violence" as grounds for capital punishment. Mr. Selenski is already serving 32½ to 65 years in state prison on a Monroe County home-invasion conviction.
The prosecution "may not proceed with a capital case where it files an unwarranted notice of aggravating circumstances spun from allegations not based on verifiable facts" but "has no pre-trial burden to prove an aggravating factor," Judge Pierantoni wrote.
"Furthermore, the responsibility of the trial court is simply to ensure that the commonwealth is not seeking the death penalty for an improper reason," the judge added.
Judge Pierantoni also rejected defense requests to dismiss the homicide charges on several grounds, including the long period between the killings in May 2002 and the filing of charges. The homicide charges were filed in 2006 after Mr. Selenski was acquitted in the killings of Frank James and Adeiye Keiler, whose remains were discovered in his backyard.
The defense also claimed Mr. Selenski was denied his right to a speedy trial because of numerous delays in the case. Judge Pierantoni agreed with the prosecution, which claimed Mr. Selenski had knowingly and repeatedly waived his speedy-trial rights.
Some delays resulted from Mr. Selenski's decision to abandon his first set of court-appointed lawyers and briefly represent himself and from appeals dealing with evidence. At least six county judges have been assigned to the case.
Shelley Centini and Edward Rymsza have been Mr. Selenski's defense attorneys since February. Last year, Mr. Selenski dismissed his attorneys and said he would represent himself, only to later ask for new court-appointed counsel.
Contact the writer: mbuffer@citizensvoice.com