Warco could face criminal charges over falsified death certificate
Warco could face criminal charges over falsified death certificate
Before Washington County Coroner Timothy Warco could testify about his claims that District Attorney Jason Walsh coerced him into falsifying a death certificate in 2022, he was read his Miranda rights and informed by a prosecutor that he could face criminal charges, bringing the proceeding to a screeching halt.
无毛视频淗e may have committed a crime and he is entitled to know his rights,无毛视频� Deputy District Attorney John Friedmann said before Warco could answer his first question.
Warco was set to testify in a hearing Thursday morning at the Washington County Courthouse before Judge Michael Lucas, who is being asked to determine whether key aspects of the homicide case against Jordan Clarke should be thrown out over alleged prosecutorial misconduct.
The main aspect revolves around Warco无毛视频檚 claims in a written affidavit last July that Walsh coerced him into finding that Clarke无毛视频檚 11-week-old son died by homicide from injuries suffered at his Peters Township home while in the care of his father. Clarke, who claims he slipped on a plastic bag and fell with the child in his arms, was charged with homicide in Sawyer无毛视频檚 death in May 2022 and could face the death penalty if convicted of first-degree murder.
While Warco ruled the death a homicide, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner无毛视频檚 office, which has jurisdiction because the child died at a Pittsburgh hospital, could not determine the manner of death. Warco accused the district attorney of compelling him to file the bogus death certificate because he allegedly told the coroner 无毛视频測ou know that I need this to be a homicide,无毛视频� according to court filings. Walsh has previously denied telling Warco to make such a ruling and noted that filing a false document is a crime.
无毛视频淎re you aware criminal charges are a possibility?无毛视频� asked defense attorney Bill Difenderfer, who is representing Clarke and called Warco to testify in the pre-trial proceeding.
无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 aware of it,无毛视频� Warco responded.
Difenderfer then explained Warco无毛视频檚 rights to him while the coroner was sitting on the stand, going as far to give him the Miranda warning police officers must read to criminal suspects upon their arrest.
无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 a bit confused,无毛视频� Warco interjected in the middle of Difenderfer explaining his legal rights. 无毛视频淎m I a witness or am I being charged?无毛视频�
That prompted Lucas to tell Warco he could take five minutes to consult his row office solicitor, Timothy Ulrich, and the two men went into a private meeting room to speak about how to proceed. When Warco returned to the stand, Lucas asked him if that time was sufficient to make a decision on whether or not he should testify.
无毛视频淚t is not,无毛视频� Warco said.
Lucas then excused Warco, who left the stand and walked out of the courtroom. After Warco left, it was revealed that the coroner would be consulting with a criminal defense attorney to determine whether he should testify in a future proceeding.
无毛视频淎pologies to the court, but that was unexpected,无毛视频� Difenderfer told Lucas, asking if the record could remain open since he hoped Warco would agree to testify at a later date.
Difenderfer and Clarke无毛视频檚 other defense attorney, Wendy Williams, filed a motion for extraordinary relief in October asking Lucas to dismiss the capital homicide case against their client, claiming the prosecution has been 无毛视频渃ontaminated无毛视频� over the falsified death certificate. Thursday无毛视频檚 hearing was expected to help move that process along, but just raised more questions about where the case stands after Warco left the courtroom.
Matthew Yancosek, who is Warco无毛视频檚 chief deputy in the coroner无毛视频檚 office, testified about how hours after Sawyer无毛视频檚 death at Children无毛视频檚 Hospital in Pittsburgh on May 24, 2022, he received an email from First Assistant District Attorney Leslie Mylan with a court order from Judge John DiSalle asking Washington County to take custody of the boy无毛视频檚 body from Allegheny County. The order erroneously said the child无毛视频檚 death happened in Peters Township, and that the Allegheny County Medical Examiner would 无毛视频渞elinquish jurisdiction无毛视频� to Washington County无毛视频檚 coroner for the purposes of an autopsy.
无毛视频淚s that something that无毛视频檚 unusual?无毛视频� Difenderfer asked about why one county would give up jurisdiction to another where the death did not occur.
无毛视频淚 would say that无毛视频檚 atypical,无毛视频� Yancosek said.
Yancosek said it was 无毛视频渇alse无毛视频� to list the child无毛视频檚 death as happening in Peters Township 无毛视频� even though the injuries occurred there 无毛视频� and also incorrect that Allegheny County relinquished jurisdiction.
Friedmann fired back, asking if the state Coroner无毛视频檚 Act allows counties to work together, to which Yancosek said there can be 无毛视频渃ooperation无毛视频� at times. Friedmann also noted that the body was returned to Washington County for an autopsy, and it was up to the coroner无毛视频檚 office to send the results to Allegheny County to make a final determination on the cause and manner of death.
Friedmann also pointed to an October 2022 email from the Allegheny County Medical Examiner无毛视频檚 office asking Washington County for the autopsy report, indicating they wanted to make a ruling while also insinuating that the district attorney无毛视频檚 office did not intend for Warco to be the one to rule.
The only other person to testify Thursday was Dr. Jennifer Hammers, the pathologist who conducted the autopsy. She said the injuries Sawyer suffered could have come from Clarke tripping and falling with the child in his arms, although she also couldn无毛视频檛 exclude other possibilities.
The prosecution intended to call three witnesses Thursday to refute Warco无毛视频檚 testimony, but they did not take the stand after the coroner declined to testify on advice from his counsel. Walsh attended the proceeding, but sat in the row behind Friedmann and Mylan as they handled the questioning.
Lucas left the record open and asked Difenderfer to notify him if Warco decides to testify so the hearing can resume.
Clarke was shackled and wearing an orange jail jumpsuit while listening to the proceeding with more than a dozen family members and other supporters seated in the courtroom无毛视频檚 gallery. Clarke, 40, has been held without bond at the Washington County jail since his arrest in June 2022 two weeks after Sawyer无毛视频檚 death.
In addition to Clarke无毛视频檚 attorneys asking Lucas to dismiss the homicide case, they are also requesting that the death penalty be removed as an option and to disqualify Walsh from prosecuting the case, among other issues that they say must be settled before trial.