Judge denies new trial in old murder case

MIFFLINTOWN - The judge reviewing the second degree murder conviction of Emerson G. McCauley Jr., has dismissed the defendant's request for a new trial.

Senior Judge Keith B. Quigley was asked in August 2008 to review McCauley's conviction for the June 26, 1977 murder of Devera D. Frink. McCauley was convicted of second degree murder by a Juniata County Jury in 1989 and was sentenced to life in prison.

Quigley's recent order states "the evidence presented at trial was more than adequate to convict the defendant."

On the night in question, 21-year-old Frink finished her shift at a pizza shop in State College and later on that same evening the partially nude victim was found by a passing motorist, below the state Route 322 bridge in Thompsontown, court documents indicate.

An autopsy was performed on Frink, which concluded she died from internal injuries consistent with having been thrown or pushed from the bridge and she also had been strangled and raped, according to court documents.

The commonwealth spent nearly 12 years developing their case against McCauley and to date he is the only person charged in connection with Frink's death; however police still believe that other people were involved and the case was reopened after McCauley's former attorney requested that DNA analysis be conducted on a hair found at the scene of the crime.

During a hearing in August 2008, defense attorney William C. Costopoulos said the DNA analysis conducted on several pieces of evidence in the case points to some other unknown person and not his client.

According to court documents, McCauley made a statement to police in August 1983 and said two other men were involved with Frink's death.

Police said one of those people died in 1978 and the available evidence against the other person was thought to be insufficient to support charges.

Quigley's recent order states that although the DNA evidence excludes McCauley from being the donor, other evidence presented at the trial, such as the testimony of the defendant's ex-girlfriend and other witnesses who said the defendant made incriminating statements about his involvement in the crime, were sufficient to convict.

Pending further court action, McCauley remains incarcerated at a state correctional facility.