Pathologist scheduled to take stand in Modery homicdie trial
WASHINGTON – Dr. Cyril Wecht, the forensic pathologist who conducted the autopsy on Ira Swearingen’s skeletal remains, is scheduled to take the stand this morning in the Gregory Modery homicide trial. Swearingen’s body was found Nov. 28, 2000, nearly a year after his disappearance while en route to Uniontown to assist with knee replacement surgery. Swearingen, 49, of Stout, Ohio, was a medical consultant with a company which manufactures prosthetics. He disappeared Dec. 12, 1999.
Alexander Martos, 34, with previous addresses in Bentleyville and Monongahela, has pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in Swearingen’s shooting death. Modery, 31, of McMurray is being tried as an accomplice. He is charged with homicide, aggravated assault, kidnapping, robbery, tampering with evidence and conspiracy to commit each of those offenses.
Debrah Levandosky, one of several people who faced lesser charges in connection with the Swearingen murder case, took the stand for nearly three hours Thursday to testify against Modery as part of a plea agreement. It was noted that she agreed to testify in exchange for a sentence of 60 days house arrest and 10 months probation on one count of receiving stolen property, with charges of theft and conspiracy dismissed.
Levandosky said she has been friends with Modery for nearly 13 years, and with his wife, Christine, for nearly as long. She regularly baby-sits for the couple’s daughter, she said. Levandosky told Modery’s attorney, Fred Rabner, that her friendship with Modery and his family would not influence the truthfulness of her testimony in the capital murder case against him.
Levandosky detailed some of the events involving Modery and co-defendants Alexander Martos and John Shaker in the week before and week after Swearingen’s disappearance on Dec. 12, 1999, including a shopping trip and dinner that took place the day after Swearingen was killed. Levandosky said that at stops at Ames and Wal-Mart in Rostraver Township, she, Martos and Shaker went into the stores while Modery stayed in his car.
Levandosky said Shaker paid for all the purchases with a credit card he took from his wallet.
The purchases included VCRs, a portable radio, compact discs, a child’s jacket, a bracelet, clothing and other items.
Levandosky said that later that night the four of them went out to dinner at the Baltimore House. She said she asked Modery to accompany them because she was uncomfortable going with Martos and Shaker.
She said Modery had introduced her to Martos in March or April of 1999 when Martos got out of jail, and she had met Shaker for the first time on Dec. 3, 1999, when she picked him up, along with Martos, at the Greyhound Bus Station in Pittsburgh.
Levandosky said the two men were dirty, smelly and wearing tattered clothes when she picked them up on Dec. 3.
Levandosky said there was nothing unusual about the dinner, though Martos and Shaker were drinking throughout the late night meal and became loud near the end, joking around with one another.
Although the waitress who served the group that night said they were toasting and cheering each other, Levandosky said there was no such behavior.
Theresa Martos, a first cousin of Alexander Martos, said Modery, Martos and Shaker came to her beauty shop in Bentleyville on Dec. 14 around 4 p.m. and she cut her cousin’s hair and shaved Shaker’s head. She said she questioned him about that, since his hair was already very short, but he told her he always got it shaved. Modery stayed in the outer lobby of the beauty shop, Theresa Martos testified.
Cpl. Robert Stauffer of the Pennsylvania State Police testified regarding his interview with Modery on Dec. 17, the day Modery and Martos were arrested after Swearingen’s bankcard was used at an automated teller machine. Modery wiped his eyes and face several times during Stauffer’s testimony, which included Rabner reading sections of the transcript in cross-examining Stauffer.
Stauffer said Modery told him he had only seen Martos twice that week, the day of the arrest and either Tuesday or Wednesday. Modery told Stauffer Martos asked to borrow his car to see Joe Petrick in Finleyville.
“Modery said he didn’t go because he was afraid of Joe Petrick. He just hung around Finleyville,” Stauffer testified.
Stauffer said Modery said he and Martos went to Wal-Mart on either Tuesday or Wednesday and that he hadn’t seen Martos at all on Monday, Dec. 13.
According to the transcript, Modery repeatedly said he hadn’t used the stolen MAC card, and had nothing to do with whatever Martos had done.
“I had nothing to do with it,” Modery is quoted as saying in the interview transcript.
The transcript shows that Modery encouraged the officers to use forensic evidence.
” You’ll know because of the videotapes, fingerprints and DNA. I had nothing to do with this poor gentleman who’s not around anymore,” Modery is quoted as saying.
Stauffer testified that at that point in the investigation, the police had only a missing person’s case and did not know what had happened to Swearingen, though he had said to Modery earlier in the questioning that there was a family with probably a dead son, brother or father.
He had also told Modery that there was a man who had been beaten up earlier in the week who had identified him, to which Modery replied, “It wasn’t me. I haven’t been in a fight since summer. I wasn’t in a fight this week.”
Rabner has based his defense on Modery being the victim of mistaken identity.