MARY IRENE GENCY - 16 yo (1977) - Charleroi (S of Pittsburgh) PA

Charleroi PA ---- Police have arrested two men in the three-decade old cold case death
of a Charleroi teenager."We've waited 33
years. I feel this will bring closure, but it will never bring her back,"
said Pam Nichols of her sister's death.Nichols' sister,
Mary Irene Gency, was found dead in Fallowfield Township, Washington County, in 1977.
She was 16 years old.
"It's sad because she's not here, but I think it's a happy time in my
family's life," said Nichols while showing reporters the last picture she has of her sister.
According to court papers, police made the arrests using DNA evidence collected in 1977.Hait
reported that it wasn't until now that technology could point police to
their suspects -- two men they said knew Gency.
Gency's boyfriend at the time, Robert Urwin, has been charged with
murder.Urwin's sister, Cindy, said that he went to the police
station on Monday to provide information he knew about the case."He
came out and he said he was innocent, and he is --- that was his
girlfriend. He loved Mary. He would never murder her," said Urwin.Urwin
said the other man arrested, David Davoli, is the guilty one.After
being arraigned, Davoli told police they had the wrong man."I
mean, the truth will come out eventually. If it takes 33 years or 35
years, it don't really matter," said Davoli.But Nichols said she
believes justice will be served for her sister in the end.
"I just believe in the justice system. Sometimes it just takes a little
while. I think the right thing will be done in the end," said Nichols.Both
Davoli and Urwin have been charged with homicide and are not eligible
for bond.Both men are being held in the Washington County Jail
with preliminary hearings scheduled for June 2.

Two men were charged Monday in the 1977 killing of Mary Irene Gency, a
North Charleroi teenager whose severely beaten body was found more than
30 years ago along a dirt road in Fallowfield.

The pregnant 16-year-old's brutal death had stumped investigators for
years. Although 19-year-old David Bernard Davoli was charged in her
slaying several months after she died, he was soon released.

But Monday, state police re-arrested Davoli, of Charleroi. They
also arrested Robert William Urwin Jr., of Dunlevy, who had been
Mary's boyfriend at the time of her death. Both men, now 53, were
charged with homicide. State police said that advances in DNA technology
and testimony from additional witnesses enabled them to make the arrests.

Gency, a sophomore at Charleroi Area High School, disappeared
Feb. 13, 1977, when she left home after dinner. She had called a
girlfriend to say she would meet her at a Charleroi Isaly's about 8
p.m., but she never arrived.

Six days later, her nude and badly beaten body was found in a wooded
area of Fallowfield.

Former Washington County Coroner Farrell Jackson said that Mary
had died from multiple skull fractures inflicted by a heavy object. An
autopsy showed she had been raped shortly before her death. A
pathologist estimated she had been five or six weeks pregnant.

At the time of her death, she had been dating Urwin, then
20. After she disappeared, he combed the town for days with a
snapshot of her, questioning her friends, according to a 1977 Pittsburgh
Press article.

Davoli, who had been seen with the victim shortly before she
disappeared, was charged with her death in July 1977. He was released
later that month after a judge dismissed the evidence against him as weak.

Later that year, with no more leads to pursue, investigators asked
for help from the public. It was the beginning of a three-decade hunt
for answers in a slaying that stunned a community.

Mary was one of four young women killed in Washington County in
five months between 1976 and 1977. Investigators probed a possible link
between the slayings but eventually decided that her death was
unrelated to the other killings.

Davoli and Urwin are being held without bond in the Washington County Jail.

Judge hears request from murder suspects



4/13/2011 3:32 AM

Attorneys for two men charged in the 33-year-old murder of a Charleroi teenager are asking a Washington County judge not to allow DNA evidence and a statement one suspect gave to state police to be used at trial.

Robert William Urwin Jr., 54, of Dunlevy, and David Bernard Davoli, 54, of Charleroi, appeared Tuesday before Judge Paul Pozonsky for a hearing to address their request.

Urwin and Davoli are accused of killing 16-year-old Mary Irene Gency of Charleroi in February 1977.

The men are charged with first-degree murder, but prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty. If convicted, the men would face a mandatory sentence of life in prison.

Urwin, who is Gency's onetime boyfriend, and his friend, Davoli, were arrested in May after DNA evidence that was not previously available linked them to the crime.

Davoli had been arrested in July 1977 for the murder but was released when a judge ruled there was insufficient evidence.

Tuesday's court proceeding first addressed a request by attorney Jeff Watson, who represents Davoli, regarding a statement made by his client shortly after his arrest May 24. Watson contends Davoli made the statement prior to being read his constitutional rights. Watson claims that while Davoli was arrested about noon that day, he was not arraigned until several hours later and had not been given his rights during that time.

State Trooper Frederick Gregg, who took the statement from Davoli, testified that Davoli was made aware of his rights before any statement was taken. Gregg said Davoli refused to give a written or tape-recorded statement.

Gregg said he interviewed Davoli about 4 p.m. at the Belle Vernon state police barracks. Davoli wasn't arraigned before District Judge Larry W. Hopkins until more than two hours later.

The trooper also addressed two specific statements made by Davoli regarding DNA evidence and whether he would have been in the same amount of trouble if he would have given police information about the murder decades ago.

"I told him it depends on what information he has," Gregg said.

Attorneys for both men are fighting the admission of DNA evidence at trial because of the type of testing used at the state police crime lab.

Michael Biondi, crime lab forensic science supervisor, testified that samples taken from Gency's bra, T-shirt and blue jeans underwent Y-STR testing that uses the Y chromosome to track males' paternal lineage, which does not change from generation to generation.

Individual specific testing was not done because of limited amount of DNA obtained from the samples, he said.

According to Biondi, Y-STR testing is accepted by the scientific community and is often used when there is prior knowledge or case information.

Test results tracked Urwin's lineage and excluded Davoli completely.

The defense attorneys contend that the Y-STR testing is too new and results are subject to individual interpretation and error.

Pozonsky did not immediately rule on the requests and gave attorneys until May 2 to submit more information.

Because of the unresolved issues, Pozonsky decided to push back the trial's start to June. The case was scheduled to go to trial next month.

http://www.observer-reporter.com/or/localnews/04-13-2011-davoli-urwin-hearing

Robert William Urwin Jr.
1 06/30/2011 06/29/2011 Pozonsky, Paul
Order scheduling Pre-Trial Status Conf 8-30-11 at noon, counsel to appear; def and counsel to appear
Sep 9 at 1:15 with jury selection 9-12

David Bernard Davoli
1 06/30/2011 06/29/2011 Pozonsky, Paul
Order scheduling pre-trial status conf 8-30 noon, counsel to appear; def and counsel to appear
9-9-11 at 1:15

http://ujsportal.pacourts.us/DocketSheets/CPReport.aspx?docketNumber=CP-63-CR-0001206-2010

3 09/21/2011 Pozonsky, Paul
order scheduling PTC 9-27-11 at 12 noon counsel to appear in chambers, da to provide any and all
discovery on or before 9-27; should def decide to go to trial, jury slection will begin 10-17-11 at 9:30

http://ujsportal.pacourts.us/DocketSheets/CPReport.aspx?docketNumber=CP-63-CR-0001206-2010

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
v.
David Bernard Davoli

Case Status: Adjudicated Status Date Processing Status A

Sentencing 12/15/2011 11:00 am Courtroom 5 Judge Paul Pozonsky Scheduled

http://ujsportal.pacourts.us/DocketSheets/CPReport.aspx?docketNumber=CP-63-CR-0001206-2010

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
v.
Robert William Urwin Jr.

Non-Jury Trial 10/20/2011 10:00 am Courtroom 5 Judge Paul Pozonsky Scheduled
Non-Jury Trial 10/21/2011 10:00 am Courtroom 5 Judge Paul Pozonsky Scheduled
Non-Jury Trial 10/24/2011 9:30 am Courtroom 5 Judge Paul Pozonsky Scheduled

http://ujsportal.pacourts.us/DocketSheets/CPReport.aspx?docketNumber=CP-63-CR-0001212-2010

10/1/2011 3:34 AM
Homicide charges dropped
By Linda Metz, Staff writer lmetz@observer-reporter.com

Prosecutors agreed Friday to drop homicide charges against a Charleroi man in connection with the 34-year-old murder of a Charleroi teenager if he cooperates in the prosecution of his co-defendant.
David Bernard Davoli, 54, pleaded guilty before Washington County Judge Paul Pozonsky to hindering apprehension and tampering with physical evidence. In exchange for his plea, prosecutors are recommending that Davoli be sentenced to 2 to 4 years in prison, according to Assistant District Attorney Chad Schneider.

"It's all based on his cooperation," in the prosecution of Robert William Urwin Jr., 54, of Dunlevy, Schneider told the judge. The homicide charge against Davoli will be dropped at his sentencing that has been tentatively scheduled for 11 a.m. Dec. 15.

Davoli and Urwin were arrested in May 2010 after DNA evidence that was not previously available linked them to the February 1977 beating death of 16-year-old Mary Irene Gency of Charleroi. Urwin is Gency's onetime boyfriend.

Davoli had been arrested in July 1977 for the murder but was released when a judge ruled there was insufficient evidence.
Urwin is set for trial Oct. 17 before Pozonsky. He is charged with first-degree murder, but prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty. If convicted, Urwin would face a mandatory sentence of life in prison.

After Davoli entered his plea, Schneider provided Pozonsky with a request to immediately have him transported from the Washington County jail, where he's been held since his arrest, to another facility.

Davoli's attorney, Jeff Watson, said the move was requested because he believes his client's safety may be at risk as Urwin also is being held in the county jail.

Neither Watson nor Schneider would specify what information Davoli will provide.

http://www.observer-reporter.com/or/story11/10-01-2011-Davoli-plea

10/6/2011 3:34 AM

Defendant in '77 case granted judge trial
By Scott Beveridge Staff writer sbeveridge@observer-reporter.com

A Charleroi man will allow a judge, rather than a jury, decide whether he is guilty in the 1977 murder of a Fallowfield Township teenager who was once his girlfriend.
Washington County Judge Paul Pozonsky granted the motion presented Wednesday by Robert William Urwin Jr., who is charged with criminal homicide in the killing of Mary Irene Gency, 16, who then lived in Fallowfield. Urwin was Gency's former boyfriend. A forensic pathologist determined she was four to six weeks pregnant at the time of her death.

Urwin, 54, was arrested in May 2010 using DNA evidence that was not available in February 1977, when the victim was found beaten to death in Fallowfield.

Prosecutors last week withdrew a homicide charge against codefendant David Bernard Davoli, 54, also of Charleroi, after he agreed to testify against Urwin. Davoli is likely to receive a sentence of 2 to 4 years for his cooperation in the 34-year-old case.

Urwin, of 222 Washington Ave., maintains his innocence and "feels more confident having a legal scholar" decide whether he is guilty, said his attorney, Joseph Francis of Washington.
A judge "understands more fully the burden of proof in a case that is this old," Francis said, following the court appearance.

Urwin answered in a clear voice that he understood the consequences of his decision when questioned in court by Pozonsky.

Pozonsky said the trial could commence within two weeks if he does not have to seat a jury in another case.

Assistant Washington County District Attorney Chad Schneider said Urwin, if convicted, is facing a prison term that could range from 10 years to life.

http://www.observer-reporter.com/or/story11/10-06-2011-urwin-nonjury-trial

10/20/2011 2:04 PM

Testimony begins in murder case
This article has been read 381 times
A Washington County judge began hearing testimony Thursday in the non-jury trial for Robert William Urwin Jr., who is accused of his bludgeoning to death a 16-year-old girl in 1977.
Mary Irene Gency died of a “vicious, vicious beating” at the hands of Urwin, said Assistant District Attorney Chad Schneider in his opening statement.

He said the prosecution will prove that it was Urwin, not his co-defendant David Bernard Davoli, 54, also of Charleroi, who brutally killed Gency after she had had sex with both men in Davoli’s car while it was parked off of Twin Bridges Road on Feb. 13, 1977.

Urwin was arrested in May 2010 using DNA evidence that was not available 34 years ago, when the victim’s body was found in a field by a passerby.

Urwin’s attorney, Joseph Francis, claims that Urwin did not killed the girl and that the prosecution lacks evidence to convict him of the crime.
Testimony continues this afternoon with Davoli expected to take the stand.

Earlier this month, Davoli was sentenced to 2 to 4 years in prison after pleading guilty to hindering apprehension and tampering with physical evidence. As part of the plea bargain, Davoli agreed to cooperate in the prosecution’s case against Urwin.

For more, see Friday’s Observer-Reporter.

http://www.observer-reporter.com/or/break11/10-20-2011_urwin-trial

'It's time everybody knows'
By Linda Metz, Staff writer lmetz@observer-reporter.com

David Bernard Davoli testified Thursday that fear for his safety and the safety of his family is what prohibited him from telling the truth about what happened to 16-year-old Mary Irene Gency 34 years ago.
Davoli, 54, of Charleroi, told Washington County Judge Paul Pozonsky that he feared what Robert William Urwin Jr., 54, of Charleroi, and his family might do if he told police that it was Urwin who brutally killed his former girlfriend Feb. 13, 1977.

However, after having experienced the death of his mother and a child, Davoli said he decided it was time that the truth be known.

"After losing a child, I believe Mrs. Gency has the right to know what happened to her daughter," he stated in the first day of the nonjury homicide trial for Urwin. "It's time everybody knows."

Gency's frozen body was found off Gun Club Road in Fallowfield Township six days after she disappeared near Isaly's on Fallowfield Avenue, where she was last seen Feb. 13, 1977.
Earlier this month, Davoli was sentenced to 2 to 4 years in prison after pleading guilty to hindering apprehension and tampering with physical evidence. As part of the plea bargain, Davoli agreed to cooperate in the prosecution's case against Urwin.

Over the past three decades, Davoli had made several contradictory statements about that night. It was only earlier this month, just prior to the start of his own trial on criminal homicide charges, that Davoli gave his latest story to prosecutors.

According to Davoli, he and Urwin, who were childhood friends, were riding around in Davoli's Buick Electra, drinking and smoking marijuana. On three separate occasions, they drove past the Isaly's in Charleroi, where they saw Gency standing on the street.

The second time, Davoli, who was 19 years old at the time, asked Urwin if they could pick up Gency, but Urwin refused. The third time, Davoli, who was driving, pulled to the side of the street in front of Gency and asked her if she wanted to smoke marijuana with him with a motion of his hand. Gency got into the front passenger seat of his car about 7:20 p.m.

When Gency got inside, she noticed Urwin in the back seat and asked what he was doing in the car.

Davoli said he knew Urwin and Gency had been dating and knew they had recently broken up. But he said he just intended to "party, get high and drink" when he picked her up.

Urwin and Gency immediately got into an argument over Urwin's relationship with Gency's best friend, Daria Pollacci.

The three drove to a lighted Charleroi High School parking lot to roll marijuana joints. Urwin and Gency got out and went to the rear of the car. While Davoli was sitting in the driver's seat and looking in his rearview mirror, he said he saw Urwin punch Gency in the face.

Davoli said he didn't interfere because it was none of his business.

Afterwards, the two got back into the car and Davoli drove to Gun Club Road. As the car passed the Charleroi Fire Department, Davoli said Urwin threw Gency's purse onto the street.

They then drove to an area on Gun Club Road, where they parked and continued to party. Davoli, however, said Gency was not drinking.

"Things then got pretty cool," said Davoli.

At one point, Davoli said, Urwin and Gency had sex in the back seat of his car while he remained in the driver's seat. Afterwards, Gency returned to the front passenger seat with nothing on but her jeans, when Davoli turned to her and said, "What about me?"

Davoli said Gency proceeded to pull her right leg out of her pants and straddled him. The two had sex while Urwin remained in the rear seat.

"It lasted only a few seconds," Davoli said.

Davoli then got out of the car to "pull up his pants and tuck in his shirt" and went to his trunk to retrieve a beer from a cooler. He said Gency was putting her leg back into her jeans.

While sitting on the back of his car, Davoli said, Urwin got out of the driver's side of the car, walked around him to the passenger's side and began pulling Gency out of the car. He said he noticed Gency's legs were bare as Urwin dragged her across the ground by her ankles.

As Gency attempted to get up, Davoli said Urwin got a tool out of the trunk and struck Gency in the back of the head. He said as Gency stumbled forward, Urwin struck her again and again, until they disappeared down an embankment into a wooded area of a nearby field.

Davoli said he never attempted to stop Urwin. Instead, he remained on the back of the car until Urwin returned.

"I just couldn't believe what was going on," he testified. "It was like time stopped."

When Urwin returned, he said Gency had been lying to him. He then instructed Davoli to get back in the car so the two could drive away.

As Davoli and Irwin drove off, Davoli said they threw Gency's clothes out of the car. Davoli threw Gency's jacket, which had been left in the front seat, out the driver's side window.

"I don't know why I did it," he said.

A short time later, after stopping at a local gas station, Davoli said he saw blood on Urwin's pants. He asked Urwin what they were going to do when Gency called the police.

"He said he didn't think we had anything to worry about," said Davoli, who then explained that was when he knew the seriousness of the situation.

He said he started worrying about himself and the consequences that could befall him since he was 19 and she was only 16, and that he had supplied her with alcohol and marijuana.

Davoli admitted that he had a previous relationship with Gency that included supplying her with drugs and alcohol. The two also had sex several months before her death.

The two then went to another friend's house, where they partied some more before going to Urwin's house to get marijuana from Urwin's parents. He said they got there about 9 p.m.

He said he drove the other friend back home and then drove home. Shortly after getting home, Davoli said he couldn't find his wallet so he called Urwin about it.

Urwin told him that someone had found Gency's purse and told him to be quiet, Davoli stated.

Davoli said he didn't sleep that night but still got up in the morning to go to work.

Over the years, Davoli said, he didn't tell this story because he was afraid for his own well-being and that of his mother, his two wives and his children.

Davoli remained silent although he was arrested July 1, 1977, in connection with Gency's murder. Three weeks later, after a district judge ordered him held for trial, he was released when a judge ruled there was not enough evidence.

The men went about their lives, until DNA testing resulted in their arrest May 24, 2010.

The DNA evidence was secured from swabs that were taken from Gency's body all those years ago, according to Dr. Abdulrezzak Shakir, who testified regarding the autopsy report done by former Washington County pathologist Dr. Ernest Abernathy hours after her body was discovered.

Shakir said sperm was recovered, indicating she had recently had sex.

Shakir, who also testified Thursday, said Gency died of head injuries resulting from at least three blows from a hammer-like object that caused her skull to fracture in numerous locations.

The autopsy report also indicated that Gency was 5 to 6 weeks' pregnant.

Doris Gency, mother of the slain teen, testified that her daughter had gone out with a girlfriend earlier on the day she disappeared.

She said after her daughter returned they ate dinner. Her daughter then dressed to go out and left the house about 7 p.m.

Doris Gency said she received a call about 8:45 p.m. that someone had found her daughter's purse. She said she called Urwin's home, but he was not there. Urwin later called her back and said he hadn't seen her daughter that night.

She said she was aware that Urwin and her daughter had broken up after a long-term relationship. But she said she didn't know why.

"They had a good relationship, but it wasn't perfect," she stated.

Also testifying Thursday was Aaron John Kash, a classmate of Gency. He remembered holding the door for her when she walked out of Isaly's. His brother, David Kash, had driven them to the store from their home in North Charleroi.

Both men then saw Gency standing inside a doorway of a travel agency next door.

David Kash said he saw Gency talking with someone inside Davoli's car when it pulled up in front of his while his brother was still in the store. He recognized Davoli's vehicle, saying it was known in the area. David Kash said she got inside the car.

Their mother called police after hearing the two brothers talk of seeing Gency just before her disappearance.

William Smith, who lived near Gency, said he and some of his friends had gone out cruising that night. They were stopped at a red light on Fifth Street when he saw Davoli's car cruise by on McKean Avenue. Smith saw Urwin in the back seat.

When they drove down Fallowfield Avenue past Isaly's, Smith said they saw Gency leaning next to Davoli's car and talking to him and others inside.

Later, Smith and his friends drove out Gun Club Road with the intention of smoking marijuana. They saw Davoli's car parked in an overflow lot used by the gun club.

"We flashed our lights on and off," Smith said, explaining that it was a signal to see if the occupants wanted to party. "But we got no response."

Smith did not believe anyone was in the car because the engine was not running and the windows were not fogged up.

Smith later reported what he had seen to then-Charleroi police Chief Larry Celaschi and Lt. Ed Hank, who said they would make note of it. Smith contacted state police and reiterated what he had seen after speaking with Gency's sister, Pamela, at a high school reunion in 2002.

The trial continues at 10 a.m. today.

http://www.observer-reporter.com/or/story11/10-21-2011-Urwin-Trial-Day-1

Analysts: DNA tests link defendant to '77 Mon Valley homicide
By Linda Metz, Staff writer lmetz@observer-reporter.com
This article has been read 731 times
Robert William Urwin Jr. will get his chance Monday to dispute the prosecution's claims that he brutally killed his former girlfriend, 16-year-old Mary Irene Gency, on Feb. 13, 1977.
Assistant District Attorney Chad Schneider Friday afternoon rested the prosecution's case against Urwin, 54, of Charleroi, after forensic DNA analysts testified that tests they performed on a pair of jeans and underpants belonging to Gency resulted in a match for Urwin's DNA.

Urwin's nonjury trial on criminal homicide began Thursday before Washington County Judge Paul Pozonsky.

Gency's frozen body was found off Gun Club Road in Fallowfield Township six days after she disappeared from near an Isaly's store on Fallowfield Avenue, where she was last seen Feb. 13, 1977.


An autopsy performed by former Washington County pathologist Ernest Abernathy hours after her body was discovered determined that Gency's skull had been fractured in numerous places after being hit several times with a hammer-like utensil.
DNA testing resulted in the arrest of Urwin and David Davoli, 54, also of Charleroi, May 24, 2010.

The DNA evidence links the two men to likely having sexual intercourse with Gency before her death, experts said.

Barbara Leal, DNA analyst for the Texas company that analyzed sperm on Gency's underpants along with DNA from swabs of Urwin and Davoli's cheeks, testified that tests could not exclude the DNA of Urwin and Davoli. According to previous court testimony, both men had sex with Gency the night of her death.

Leal said Davoli could not be excluded based on testing performed on evidence taken from two pieces of the underwear. Urwin could not be excluded based on testing done on one of those pieces.

Michael Biondi, a forensic science supervisor for the state police crime lab in Greensburg, analyzed sperm taken from jeans worn by Gency along with DNA collected from the men. Like Leal, he determined that Urwin could not be excluded based on his testing that also ruled out Davoli.

However, Biondi said Urwin's DNA matched 10 of 16 areas tested.

Earlier in the day, retired state police Cpl. Beverly Ashton testified that through her many years of training, she had learned to become suspicious of a person who shows too much interest in a criminal investigation.

It was with that in mind that she kept her eye on Urwin, who over the course of three decades contacted state police investigators 13 separate times to discuss Gency's death.

"My training is that someone who interjects themselves over a long period of time is someone I should be looking at," said Ashton, who became the lead investigator in the case in 2002.

She had her first contact with Urwin May 12, 2009, when, during an interview, he said he had last had sex with Gency about a month before her death and that he hadn't seen her for about three days before her disappearance. Urwin said they met in high school and dated for about two years.

On Thursday, Davoli testified against Urwin, indicating that Urwin brutally beat Gency on the head with a tool he obtained from the trunk of Davoli's car while the three of them were out partying. Davoli said he didn't tell what had happened for 34 years because he feared for his own safety and that of his family.

Earlier this month, Davoli was sentenced to two to four years in prison after pleading guilty to hindering apprehension and tampering with physical evidence. As part of the plea bargain, Davoli agreed to cooperate in the prosecution's case against Urwin.

http://www.observer-reporter.com/or/story11/10-22-2011-urwin-trial-day-2

Closing arguments set in brutal 1977 killing
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
By Michael A. Fuoco, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
A verdict is possible today in the homicide trial of a Washington County man accused in the brutal bludgeoning of his pregnant 16-year-old former girlfriend more than three decades ago.

Washington County Common Pleas Judge Paul Pozonsky scheduled closing arguments for this morning, the fourth day of the nonjury trial of defendant Robert W. Urwin Jr., 54, of Dunlevy. At the conclusion of those arguments, Judge Pozonsky will decide whether Mr. Urwin is guilty or not guilty of beating to death Mary Irene Gency on Feb. 13, 1977, when he was 20 years old.

Ms. Gency, of North Charleroi, disappeared that evening, having been last seen near an Isaly's in Charleroi's shopping district. Her frozen, nude, brutally beaten body was discovered six days later by two brothers spotting deer in a wooded area near the Charleroi Sportsman's Club in Fallowfield. An autopsy determined she died from multiple skull fractures inflicted by a heavy object and was about six weeks pregnant.

On Monday, defense attorney Joseph C. Francis put eight witnesses on the stand to attempt to counter the prosecution's case that Mr. Urwin killed Ms. Gency after he and his boyhood friend David Davoli smoked marijuana with her and both men had sex with her near the sportman's club.

Mr. Davoli, 54, of Charleroi, who had been Mr. Urwin's co-defendant in the homicide case, testified to that account last week as part of an agreement with the prosecution. He received two to four years in prison on charges of hindering apprehension and tampering with evidence in exchange for his testimony against Mr. Urwin.

But defense witness Mathias Molek Jr. of Bentleyville testified Monday that Mr. Urwin was with him at a Charleroi pool hall and later at a party the night Ms. Gency went missing. He said Mr. Davoli showed up at the party later.

Gerald Magruda of Charleroi also testified to seeing Mr. Urwin at that party while several other witnesses said they saw Mr. Davoli riding around Charleroi but didn't see Mr. Urwin with him.

Additionally, Arthur Young, a DNA expert for Guardian Forensic Services, a private firm, testified that DNA from sperm on clothing can remain even after 10 or more launderings. That testimony was designed to show that Mr. Urwin's statement to investigators that he had broken up with Ms. Gency and hadn't had sex with her for a month before she went missing could be true.

The prosecution had presented analysts who identified DNA on Ms. Gency's underwear, found near her body, to both men and on her blue jeans, found a distance away, to Mr. Urwin.

Such DNA testing wasn't available in 1977, but after the biological material was examined last year, both Mr. Urwin and Mr. Davoli were charged in the slaying.

For Mr. Davoli, it was the second time he had been charged in the case. As a 19-year-old, he was arrested in 1977 but the charges were dropped for lack of evidence. He testified last week that he kept silent for 34 years because he feared for his safety and that of his family.



Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11298/1184704-53.stm#ixzz1bnfpU9Xj

Decades later, pregnant teen's killer convicted
Former boyfriend found guilty in 1977 bludgeoning of Washington County girl
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
By Michael A. Fuoco, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

More than 34 years after a pregnant 16-year-old Washington County girl was brutally beaten to death, a verdict was reached Tuesday in her killing.

On the fourth day of a non-jury trial, Washington County Common Pleas Judge Paul Pozonsky found Robert W. Urwin Jr., 54, of Dunlevy, guilty of third-degree murder of his former girlfriend when he was a 20-year-old.

Mr. Urwin's conviction in the death of Mary Irene Gency, 16, of North Charleroi, elicited loud sobs from his wife, three children, mother and sisters.

"It will be all right," he said, trying to comfort them as he was escorted in handcuffs and leg shackles out of the courtroom and back to jail to await sentencing Dec. 20. He faces a prison sentence from 10 to 20 years, the sentencing guideline from 1977, when the crime was committed. Since then, the guideline has been doubled to 20 to 40 years.

Reaction to the verdict from Ms. Gency's relatives, who made up the other half of the crowded courtroom, was subdued.

Doris Gency, who was shocked when her daughter's former boyfriend was arrested in May 2010, said she "wasn't sure" how she felt about the verdict.

"It's with mixed emotions," she said quietly.

Ms. Gency's sister, Pam Nichols of Fallowfield, noted that even with a verdict concluding a murder case of more than three decades, "The sad part is that all the families in the case lose."

Washington County District Attorney Steven Toprani, whose assistant Chad Schneider prosecuted the case, said he was pleased with the verdict in a case that had "haunted not only the Gency family but their community."

"[Ms. Gency's] young life was cut short in a tragic and horrific manner, and hopefully the family and community will take a degree of comfort from what transpired [Tuesday]," he said.

Ms. Gency's nude, frozen body was found in a wooded area in Fallowfield six days after she disappeared the night of Feb. 13, 1977. An autopsy determined she died from multiple skull fractures inflicted by a heavy object and was about six weeks pregnant.

Shortly thereafter, state police arrested David Davoli, 19, of Charleroi but charges were dropped for lack of evidence.

The case went cold for more than three decades. But using science not available in 1977, analysts identified DNA on Ms. Gency's underwear, found near her body, as that of both Mr. Davoli and Mr. Urwin and on her blue jeans, found a distance away, as that of Mr. Urwin.

State police arrested both men in May 2010. But as his murder trial approached, Mr. Davoli agreed to testify against his boyhood friend Mr. Urwin and pleaded guilty to hindering apprehension and tampering with evidence. In exchange, the prosecution will recommend he receive a two- to four-year sentence.

Mr. Davoli, now 54, of Charleroi, testified that Mr. Urwin, who had recently broken up with Ms. Gency, grabbed a tool from the trunk of Mr. Davoli's car and began beating her in the head and chased her over an embankment after the trio smoked marijuana near the Charleroi Sportsman's Club and both men had sex with her.

Ms. Gency's brother, Stephen Gency, 53, of Carroll, who grew up with both men, said he disagreed with the relatively short sentence Mr. Davoli will receive, because "I believe David Davoli had a lot to do with it."

A sobbing Sheila Urwin said her husband of nearly 20 years "is not a murderer" and the wrong man had been convicted.

Defense attorney Joseph C. Francis said: "for [Mr. Davoli's] word to be fully trusted and to be relied upon to sustain this conviction is a little startling."

Mr. Toprani, who conceded the case has been "a troubling one, a challenging one," noted the DA's office had consulted with the Gency family before the plea bargain. He said the deal was necessary to obtain "a central piece of our case."



Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11299/1184955-58-0.stm#ixzz1btLvUZCA

Cold-case killer sentenced to maximum
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
By Jonathan D. Silver, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
A judge today sentenced a Washington County man to 10 to 20 years in prison for the murder more than three decades ago of a pregnant 16-year-old girl.

Washington County Common Pleas Judge Paul Pozonsky imposed the sentence -- the maximum allowable under the sentencing guidelines in 1977, when the crime was committed -- on Robert W. Urwin Jr., 55, of Dunlevy, in the beating death of Mary Irene Gency of North Charleroi.

The judge found Mr. Urwin guilty in October of third-degree murder after a non-jury trial.

Prosecutors presented DNA evidence that linked Mr. Urwin to Ms. Gency, his former girlfriend.

David Davoli, 54, of Charleroi, another longtime suspect, testified against Mr. Urwin and got a reduced sentence in a plea deal.

Mr. Davoli told the court that Mr. Urwin beat Ms. Gency in the head with a tool from his car trunk, and chased her over an embankment after the three smoked marijuana and the two men had sex with her.

Her nude body was found in a wooded area in Fallowfield six days after she disappeared in February 1977.

Mr. Urwin's attorney, Joseph C. Francis, said his client maintains his innocence.



Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11354/1198188-58.stm#ixzz1hBx5S6hJ