May 15, 2002 By Patty Shultz 4 min read

PITTSBURGH – A fire that resulted from the explosion of a pipe bomb was not fueled by gasoline, according to a defense expert witness. Dr. Gerald Hurst told jurors on Tuesday that it was more likely that leaking corroded natural gas lines to a hot water heater in the Rose Garden Apartment residence of Deana Kay Mitts caused the fatal fire.

“I conclude there was no gasoline involved in the initial explosion,” Hurst said.

Hurst, a former research scientist with the U.S. government and currently an explosive research consultant, was the final defense witness in the ongoing capital case against Joseph P. Minerd, 46, of Bullskin Township.

Minerd is charged with planting a pipe bomb in Mitts’ 504 McCormick Ave. apartment on Jan. 1, 1999, that exploded and killed her and her 3-year-old daughter, Kayla Ashley Mitts.

Hursts’ conclusions contradict earlier testimony presented by the prosecution that indicated an accelerant was used to cause a fuel air explosion.

U.S. Treasury Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) investigators found a swatch of carpeting from the apartment containing gasoline, according to test results submitted by the prosecution.

Hurst told defense counsel Jay T. McCamic that any gasoline found at the site, three months after the incident, was the result of someone tracking the substance into the home.

“I’d never bother taking samples after three months,” he testified. “The probability that gasoline would hang around is unlikely.”

Hurst’s ability to testify as an expert in the field of cause and origin of fires and explosives was challenged by prosecutor Shaun E. Sweeney, assistant U.S. attorney for the Western District, who noted that he had not received any updated training in the field since 1995 and based his conclusions solely on submitted reports, photographs and testimony in the case.

“No, I’ve never been to the scene. I don’t even know if it exists,” he told Sweeney.

Senior U.S. District Judge Maurice B. Cohill, however, authorized the use of Hurst’s expertise by the defense based on his past experience and prior education in the field.

McCamic produced photographs that showed a hole in the natural gas lines leading to the hot water heater in Mitts’ apartment in support of the testimony.

Hurst testified that the accumulation of natural gas was ignited when the pipe bomb exploded. He did not refute that a pipe bomb was used in the blast.

Hurst also contradicted prosecution witness testimony that fire patterns found throughout the first floor were the result of gasoline being poured throughout the kitchen and livingroom areas.

Instead, Hurst testified, the cause of the patterns were more likely to have occurred as smoke radiated downward dropping particles containing soot.

Other causes of the patterns, he said, could be associated with fire burning around debris that had fallen from the second floor of the home.

Hurst disagreed with prior prosecution testimony by a Connellsville firefighter that the fire continued to burn despite the use of water because of the use of an accelerant. Hurst said it was more likely linked to synthetic materials used in the furniture found in the home.

“The fire (fueled by the fabric) is very difficult to put out,” he said. “It keeps coming back at you.”

In other testimony, state police Fire Marshal William Large said his conclusion made on Jan. 1, 1999, that the fire was a result of a natural gas explosion was based on his limited knowledge of causes of explosions.

The initial report attributed the explosion and fire to faulty heating and hot water equipment, but did not conclude what had ignited the blast.

Large told Sweeney that at the time of the 1999 incident he had not received any training in post-explosion investigations.

“Based on your current experience, could you with reasonable certainty say that this was a fuel air explosion?” asked Sweeney.

“Yes,” Large said.

In rebuttal testimony offered by the prosecution, Joseph Orszulak, manager of Kathryn’s Jewelry Store in Connellsville, testified that he purchased a 14-karet gold marquise diamond engagement-style ring from Deana Mitts. Orszulak presented documentation that indicated the $400 transaction took place on Sept. 8, 1998.

An earlier defense witness had testified that she had been introduced in October 1998 to Deana Mitts by Minerd who noted their impending marriage.

Cohill said following closing statements by both sides, jurors would begin their deliberations when court convenes today at 9 a.m.