Murder of Jennifer Daugherty


Jennifer Lee Daugherty was an American woman who was murdered in Greensburg, Pennsylvania in February 2010. Daugherty, who was mentally disabled, was tortured and murdered before being wrapped in Christmas decorations, put inside a garbage can and dumped in the parking lot of Greensburg-Salem Middle School.

Murder

During torture and abuse sessions, which lasted for 36 hours, Daugherty's attackers tied her up, forced her to consume feces, urine and detergent; beat her with a towel rack, a vacuum cleaner hose, and a crutch; shaved her head; painted her face with nail polish; forced her to write a fake suicide note; and then stabbed her to death. Six suspects were charged with criminal homicide, kidnapping and other counts related to her death:
According to her relatives, Daugherty had the mental abilities of a 12- to 14-year-old, she trusted everyone, and she had thought that the suspects were her "friends".
Allegheny County Coroner Cyril H. Wecht, who has conducted and reviewed thousands of autopsies of homicide victims, stated, "... This is one of the most horrific cases I have seen... You have one young, defenseless woman, six people who are keeping her captive and doing all of these things, knowing she is . Put it all together, it is bizarre, it is extreme barbarism."

Trials

As of November 3, 2010, the prosecution was seeking the death penalty for Smyrnes, Knight and Meidinger.
On August 3, 2011, Angela Marinucci was formally given a mandatory life sentence without possibility of parole after being found guilty in May of first-degree murder. As she was 17 at the time of the crime, she was ineligible for the death penalty.
On April 12, 2012, Melvin Knight of Greensburg, Pennsylvania pleaded guilty to first- and second-degree murder, kidnapping, and conspiracy to commit murder and kidnapping.
On August 30, 2012, a jury deliberated several hours before voting to put Knight to death.
On February 28, 2013, Ricky Smyrnes was sentenced to death.
On December 4, 2013, Amber Meidinger, of Greensburg, was sentenced to 40 to 80 years in prison after pleading guilty to third-degree murder, kidnapping and conspiracy.
The final two suspects, Robert Masters Jr. and Peggy Miller, pleaded guilty to third-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder and conspiracy to commit kidnapping on December 19, 2013. Masters was sentenced to 30 to 70 years, and Miller was sentenced to 35 to 74 years.
In September 2014, Knight appealed his sentence. His trial was delayed several times, and his sentence was upheld in March, 2019.
Smyrnes also appealed his sentence. In February 2017, a judge upheld his death sentence. His execution was delayed in July 2017.
On November 15, 2018 Knight's appeals were denied and he was returned to death row.
Amber Meidinger, 29, filed paperwork in November 2019 with the state's Board of Pardons, seeking early termination of her 40- to 80-year prison sentence.
Angela Marinucci has since had her life without parole sentence revoked due the 2012 and 2016 supreme court rulings Miller v. Alabama and Montgomery v. Louisiana and is awaiting her new sentence.
Robert Loren Masters is currently imprisoned in the State Correctional Institution – Greene, Ricky Ven Smyrnes and Melvin Knight are in the State Correctional Institution - Phoenix, Peggy Darlene Miller and Amber Meidinger are in the State Correctional Institution - Muncy, and Angela Marinucci is imprisoned in the State Correctional Institution - Cambridge Springs.