Convicted killer seeks attorney for appeals
A Uniontown man convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death in 2004 for killing three people and an unborn fetus wants a federal judge to appoint him an attorney so he can further appeal his case. Noting that a death warrant will be issued automatically under law, federal public defender Tricia Russell asked a U.S. District Court judge to appoint Mark D. Edwards a taxpayer-funded lawyer on Monday.
Edwards, 24, was convicted of killing Larry Bobish Sr., his wife, Joanna, and their daughter, Krystal on April 14, 2002. Krystal Bobish was pregnant at the time, and Edwards also was convicted of killing her unborn fetus.
Edwards also was convicted of trying to kill the Bobish’s son, Larry Jr., by cutting his throat and shooting him and then setting the Bobish’s North Union Township home on fire.
Larry Jr. escaped the blaze and an off-duty state police trooper delivering papers with this sons found the youngster and alerted authorities.
Russell indicated in her filing that Edwards wants to seek post-conviction relief in federal court, but is indigent and cannot pay for an attorney on his own. She indicated that after Edwards’ automatic appeal to the state Supreme Court was denied, his attorney asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case.
That request was denied last month, according to the filing.
The petition asks a judge to appoint Russell and attorney James Moreno, both public defenders through the Pennsylvania Capital Habeas Unit, to jointly represent Edwards. If the appointment is made, the filing asked for 180 days to file the post-conviction appeal.
Edwards is currently incarcerated at the State Correctional Institution at Greene. At the time of his 2004 trial, the Bobish’s youngest son was living in another county and under an assumed name.
Police said Edwards robbed Larry Bobish Sr. of drugs two days before, and then killed them to avoid being arrested for robbery.