RIDGWAY - Elk County Court of Common Pleas President Judge Richard Masson ruled that due to pre-trial publicity, a jury from outside of Elk County will be chosen to hear the murder case against Lawrence Earl Donachy, 36, of St. Marys.
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania will choose the county in which the jurors are to be summoned from.
Donachy is charged in the April 6, 1999 rape and murder of Irene Challingsworth, a 57-year-old St. Marys beautician, after he allegedly broke into her Walnut Street residence.
By
Victoria Stanish, Editor
Recent visitors to the the St. Marys Walmart located in Fox Township are sure to have noticed the remodeling activities taking place. The work began on March 7 and is expected to be completed sometime in May.
The St. Marys Municipal Airport would benefit from refinancing its debt, according to city councilman Dan Hepner. Hepner was appointed to fill a vacancy on the St. Marys Area Airport Authority in January, a term that will run for five years.
"In looking at redoing the city bonds, it is my recommendation that we seriously consider taking the airport debt and refinancing that was part of the bond refinancing," Hepner said. "In other words, pay off the existing debt and then have them become part of the bond indenture. [They would] continue to pay as they do on a monthly basis."
