Pocono News Section

Wayne County Murder Suspect Will Face Trial

Wayne County Murder Suspect Will Face Trial - Thursday, September 3, 2009 at 6:08PM EST

Reported by: Eric Deabill
Thursday, Sep 3, 2009 @ 06:08pm EST
HONESDALE, WAYNE COUNTY - The man accused of an 18-year-old murder in Wayne County is going to trial. A judge has ruled there is enough evidence to forward the case against Jeffrey Plishka to trial.

Plishka is accused of raping and then killing camp counselor Laura Ronning in 1991.

Right before the judge made her decision, Plishka's lawyer said the case was the weakest and most poorly put together case he's seen in his 30-year career. Attorney Lee Krause is shocked the case is going to trial.

"They've targetted him right from the day of this and their focus is like tunnel vision. They haven't looked for anyone else," Krause said.

State Police troopers Herman Todd and Patrick Zirpoli both took the stand Thursday. They talked about how Plishka's stories have changed over the years. They also introduced DNA evidence, saying blood from Ronning may have been found on a gun Plishka had access to.

Plishka's attorney says it's not definite the blood was Ronnings.

"The evidence in this case comes from a lot of different sources. There's a piece here and a piece there," district attorney Michael Lehutsky said.

"There's no blood evidence, no ballistic evidence, there's no DNA that supports their theory of the case," Krause said.

Probably the most damning evidence against Plishka came right after his arrest five weeks ago.

While being questioned, Plishka told investigators, "OK -- you have the gun that killed Laura Ronning -- but I'm not the only one that had access to the gun."

"When your confronted for hours on end with an officer saying 'This is the gun, you did it, you did it,' you tend to make statements that are not as clear perhaps as you'd like to make them," Krause said.

"Lee's opinions are just that really. Ultimately, the only opinion that matters in this case is the opinion of a jury," Lehutsky said.

Prosecutors have not yet said whether or not they will seek the death penalty against Jeffrey Plishka. That decision should come at a formal arraignment. That should be held with the next month in Wayne County.