STORY: "John Kunco's attorneys will challenge any attempt to use deceased accuser's 1991 testimony," by reporter Rich Cholodofsky, published by The Tribune-Review on November 2, 2018.
GIST: "The lawyers for a former Harrison man who served nearly three decades in prison for a violent rape he maintains he did not commit said they might challenge prosecutors if they attempt to have the testimony of his deceased accuser read in court during a new trial. Defense attorneys for John Kunco on Friday asked for more time to prepare motions ahead of a retrial that is tentatively scheduled for next summer in Westmoreland County Court. In that request, lawyers from the Innocence Project of New York, which defended Kunco during his successful challenge of his 1991 rape conviction, said a new lead trial attorney is expected to be hired who could submit a series of requests challenging the prosecution’s evidence. Kunco, 54, was sentenced to spend 45-to-90-years in prison but was released in May after he served 28 years behind bars when Westmoreland County Court Judge Christopher Feliciani ruled the evidence presented during the 1991 trial was not sufficient to justify the rape conviction. Prosecutors said Kunco broke into the woman’s New Kensington apartment in December 1990, blindfolded her with her underwear, shocked her with a frayed electrical cord, then raped her and forced her to perform sexual acts. In making his ruling that vacated the conviction and sentence, Judge Feliciani specifically referred to bite mark evidence used by prosecutors to link Kunco to the alleged rape, saying he agreed with the defense’s contention that it was based on unsound science and unreliable. Kunco’s lawyers said they expect prosecutors to again use bite mark evidence against Kunco and will seek to have it barred from the new trial. The defense also suggested it would be improper for Kunco’s accuser’s testimony from the first trial be read to jurors at a new trial. The victim was 55 at the time of the assault and has since died. “Introduction of the victim’s testimony from the prior trial … would implicate Mr. Kunco’s confrontation rights given any new theory under which Mr. Kunco will inevitably be retried,” his lawyers said. Kunco is back in jail as he awaits his retrial. Police in Allegheny County charged him in August with molesting a young girl after he was released from prison in May. As a result of that new arrest, Feliciani revoked Kunco’s bond that freed him pending his retrial for the 1990 case."
The entire story can be read at:
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/
