Nov 10, 2004 By Jennifer Harr 3 min read

Officials from the state attorney general’s office have claimed that a visiting judge had no jurisdiction to overturn and vacate the murder conviction of David Joseph Munchinski in a 1977 double homicide. In a court document filed this week, Deputy Attorney General Jonelle H. Eshbach laid out the claims that prosecutors intend to argue more fully as they continue to appeal the decision of Judge Barry E. Feudale.

The Northumberland County senior judge presided over a lengthy post-conviction hearing in Fayette County Court that delved into several pieces of evidence that were not turned over to Munchinski for his defense against charges that he took part in the Dec. 2, 1977, murders of James P. Alford and Raymond Gierke in Bear Rocks, Bullskin Township.

Feudale ultimately ruled that former Fayette County prosecutors, now judges, Ralph C. Warman and Gerald R. Solomon withheld several pieces of evidence that might have convinced jurors that Munchinski was innocent in the double slaying.

Among that evidence was a taped interview of Richard Bowen, the key prosecution witness against Munchinski and co-defendant Leon Scaglione.

Eshbach maintained that the tape does not exist, an assertion supported by testimony from Warman and Solomon. Only former trooper Montgomery Goodwin, the lead investigator in the case, has testified the tape exists. Goodwin is in prison, convicted of third-degree murder for killing his wife’s paramour.

Both Warman and Solomon worked on the Munchinski case while in the district attorney’s office, and each testified that Bowen’s 1982 statement was not taped. Bowen broke the case when he came forward and said he was the getaway driver for Munchinski and Scaglione. He later killed himself in prison

Eshbach argued that the issue of the tape’s existence, and other pieces of evidence Feudale used to overturn the conviction, was litigated in a prior post-conviction hearing. Generally, under the Post Conviction Relief Act, once an issue is decided, it cannot be revisited.

The court filing also indicates that discharge of Munchinski’s life sentences “was not the appropriate relief” and that Feudale’s findings “directly contradict prior holdings which are the law of the case and contradict and/or are not supported by the record of the case.”

Eshbach’s next filing will more fully detail why she believes Feudale’s ruling was in error.

Although Feudale vacated Munchinski’s conviction, the 52-year-old remains in jail. Feudale will hold a hearing next week to determine if Munchinski can be released while the attorney general’s office appeals his findings.

Eshbach filed a petition last week asking for permission to appeal immediately if Feudale decides to grant Munchinski bail.