STATE
GREENSBURG — A Western Pennsylvania jury has sentenced a man to death for his role in the torture-murder of a mentally disabled woman who was held captive in a dingy apartment for more than two days.
The jurors in Westmoreland County took slightly less than four hours on Thursday to impose the sentence on 26-year-old Ricky Smyrnes.
The same jury earlier this month took about half as much time to convict him of first-degree murder in the death of 30-year-old Jennifer Daugherty in 2010.
SPRINGDALE — Police are searching for a Pittsburgh man who allegedly threw perfume or another liquid on his girlfriend and set her on fire.Court papers show that authorities are looking for 27-year-old Clinton C. Cohen.Police say they were called to an apartment in Springdale at about 6 a.m. Thursday and found 22-year-old Maria Redman, who sustained serious burns.Cohen allegedly fled before police and emergency workers arrived.Cohen is facing numerous charges, including aggravated assault, arson, risking catastrophe and attempted homicide.
HARRISBURG — A popular Pennsylvania outdoors show that was postponed indefinitely because of a controversy over assault weapons will not be rescheduled this year.The Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show had been scheduled to start Feb. 2 at the Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg.But its ban on assault weapons in the wake of a Connecticut school shooting led to a backlash and vendor boycott. Organizers indefinitely postponed the event last month.On Thursday, state officials who run the Farm Show Complex said the show would not be held this year.Reed Exhibitions, which operates the Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show, could not be reached for comment.
NANTICOKE — Family, friends and community members are set to say goodbye to a corrections officer slain at a federal prison in northeastern Pennsylvania.Authorities say Eric Williams was working in a housing unit when an inmate using a homemade weapon attacked him Monday night at the Canaan penitentiary in Waymart, about 20 miles northeast of Scranton.A public viewing is scheduled for 4 p.m. today at Greater Nanticoke Area High School in Nanticoke. Williams graduated from the school in 1996.School board President Ryan Verazin, who knew Williams, says they're expecting a large crowed of law enforcement and community members. Williams' funeral is scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday.
