Jury still out in Wlasiuk case

NORWICH – After three and a half hours of deliberations, the eight-woman, four-man jury in the Peter M. Wlasiuk murder trial elected to sleep on their decision Thursday night before resuming deliberations early Friday morning.

Following three hours and 45 minutes of closing statements from Defense Attorney Randel Scharf and District Attorney Joseph A. McBride Thursday, the jury left the courtroom to begin its deliberations at 1:45 p.m. Jurors went home around 5:30 p.m. and returned at 8:15 this morning.

Peter Wlasiuk, charged with second degree murder, was 33 at the time of his original arrest and conviction in 2002. He was sentenced to the maximum, 25 years in prison to life, for allegedly smothering his wife Patricia at their Oxford home and then transporting the body to Guilford Lake, where police believe he staged an accident to cover it up.

Wlasiuk, now 39, spent six years in the state prison at Attica before the New York State Appellate Division declared he did not receive a fair trial, citing a number of procedural and conduct errors on the part of the court and district attorney’s office. His case was returned to Chenango County in August, 2006.

Wlasiuk’s original jury deliberated for four hours and 19 minutes before reaching a verdict of guilty in November, 2002.

Scharf gave his closing arguments first Thursday, attacking the methodology of the prosecution’s case and indicating corruption on the part of police investigators.

“They are selecting what they want you to see. They’re cherry picking the truth, their truth,” said Scharf.

Scharf reminded the jury that he, not the prosecution, presented several pieces of the people’s evidence to the jury, including the alleged “murder bush,” the burdock plant where Patricia was allegedly killed.

“You’d think the prosecution would show you the evidence, not me. It’s their evidence. It was never even opened at the first trial,” said Scharf, referring to the evidence bag containing the burdocks bush where Patricia’s hair was found.