Man awaits new attorney to appeal bombing conviction
PITTSBURGH – A local man serving a life sentence without parole for killing his estranged pregnant girlfriend and her daughter is awaiting the appointment of legal counsel for the appeal of his conviction. Last year, Joseph P. Minerd, 48, was found guilty by a federal jury of placing a pipe bomb in the Connellsville apartment of Deana Kay Mitts. The bomb killed Mitts and her 3-year-old daughter, Kayla Ashley Mitts, on Jan. 1, 1999.
Deana Mitts was 8 months pregnant with Minerd’s child at the time of her death.
Shortly after the sentencing, attorneys Richard Kammen and Jay T. McCamic, Minerd’s court-appointed trial counsel, filed an appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
The initial court-appointed attorney for the appeal, Caroline Roberto, petitioned to withdraw her representation noting “serious and irreparable disagreement.”
“The disagreements are substantial and the withdrawal is in the client’s best interest,” wrote Roberto.
She declined to specify the causes of the disagreements, noting that any declaration could violate issues of confidentiality.
Roberto indicated that Minerd had also requested her to withdraw from the case.
Roberto recommended Pittsburgh attorney Sally Frick be appointed to the position, but no action has been taken by the judge.
According to Paul Thompson, assistant U.S. Attorney for the Western District, after legal counsel has been assigned, both sides will have the opportunity to file briefs and responses to the court before a decision is made to conduct a hearing in the matter.
During the eight-day trial held before U.S. Senior District Judge Maurice B. Cohill, jurors listened to testimony from 32 prosecution witnesses and eight defense witnesses.
According to the witnesses, Minerd and Deana Mitts were engaged just two weeks after they began dating.
After Mitts announced her pregnancy three months later, Minerd insisted she have an abortion because he was uncertain as to the child’s paternity.
When she refused to comply with the request, the relationship ended.
Several witnesses, including Pauline Mitts, the mother and grandmother of the victims, testified that Minerd then began stalking her daughter.
The government maintained in November 1998 Minerd began to plan her death when he purchased pipe bomb components at a Scottdale hardware store.
Defense witnesses testified to Minerd’s whereabouts the day before the explosion, but they could not account for a five-hour period during the early morning hours of Jan. 1, 1999.
Prosecutors sought the death penalty but jurors were unable to reach a unanimous decision in the matter.
Minerd is currently serving the life sentence at the U.S. Penitentiary in Lewisburg.