PSP trooper on trial for dentists murder

[jerkin]

I don't remember seeing anything about this before, happened in late 07 but the trial is just beginning today.

State trooper's homicide trial opens today
Monday, March 09, 2009
By Paula Reed Ward, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The trial of a Pennsylvania state trooper accused of killing a well-known Blairsville dentist will begin today in Indiana County.

Kevin Foley, who has been suspended without pay since his arrest in September 2007, is charged with criminal homicide in the April 13, 2006, slaying of Dr. John Yelenic, 39.

Dr. Yelenic's throat, face and torso had been slashed with a knife. Testimony at Trooper Foley's preliminary hearing revealed that the dentist bled to death.

The case, which went unsolved for 16 months, left people living in the small town of Blairsville fearful.

The back door to Dr. Yelenic's South Spring Street home had been unlocked, and investigators found a broken window and signs of a struggle.

According to testimony at the preliminary hearing, investigators found bloody footprints at the scene, as well as DNA evidence on Dr. Yelenic that linked Trooper Foley -- who was living with the dentist's estranged wife -- to the crime.

The footprints, made by ASICS running shoes, matched a pair worn by the trooper. And police said that DNA taken from scrapings under Dr. Yelenic's fingernails came from Trooper Foley.

The trooper also had an injury to his left eye after the homicide, though he attributed it to a hockey game.

Dr. Yelenic was scheduled to sign divorce papers the day he died. He and his wife, Michele, had been married for seven years. She stood to collect $1 million in insurance benefits upon his death, and would likely have gotten less in the divorce.

During the preliminary hearing, fellow officers said that Trooper Foley, a homicide investigator, repeatedly said he wanted the dentist dead.

The trial will be held before Indiana County President Judge William J. Martin, who denied a request by the defense to move the case because of pretrial publicity.
Paula Reed Ward can be reached at pward@post-gazette.com or 412-263-2620.
First published on March 9, 2009 at 12:00 am

[son of the revolution]

For guy that was a homicide investigator he sure managed to leave plenty of damning evidence

[Wild Bill Klinton]

Veeerry Good, and his co-troopers herd him say,"I want him dead". And he was a homicide investigator...veeerry good. Way to go PSP

[Frenchy]

You must have been out of the country or hiding under a rock, this hit the news big time when it happened...

[LittleRedToyota]

you'd think a homicide investigator would do a better job of not leaving physical evidence at the crime scene...

[Evolution]

I will remember this time the next time a PSP trooper takes my gun for officer safety. He will claim not to know me or what my intentions are. I will claim likewise and reference this case.

[Wild Bill Klinton]

-Who was living with the dentist's estranged wife-

I hope the gold digger is with an other guy by now....

[angus]

you'd think a homicide investigator would do a better job of not leaving physical evidence at the crime scene...

Lochard's Exchange Principle can bite you in the ass whether you've been trained in it or not.

[AlbinoRhino]

I guess he was an anti-dentite...

[son of the revolution]

Maybe the cop just got upset because the dentist didnt extract himself from the situation fast enough . Either way the cop was clearly high when he thought he could pull this caper. Now the ex's life has been impacted as well . This cop had some serious moral decay .