From
WeAreCentralPA.com:
A Johnstown man convicted of killing his wife is hoping DNA evidence will clear his name.
A jury found Kevin Siehl guilty of first degree murder in 1992. His wife Christine was found stabbed to death in the bathroom of her Moxham apartment in 1991.
At the time DNA testing was never done. Now the defense, citing the Post Conviction Relief Act of 1995, is asking to re-examine the physical evidence.
"You can ask the court to have specific items of evidence tested for DNA if you assert that if it comes back negative for the defendant's that would prove their innocence," District Attorney Patrick Kiniry said.
Friday morning Kiniry agreed in principle to hand over several pieces of evidence to the New York based Innocence Project.
"They will submit a list of which items they want tested. We'll look at that item to see if it would indeed show that the person was innocent," he said.
Siehl is represented by Craig Cooley of the innocence project. It’s the belief of the defense that blood, fingernail scrapings, and the murder weapon will lack biological evidence connecting Siehl to the crime.
Following Friday’s hearing Kiniry said he's not worried about the possibility of test results overturning the jury's decision.
"There was a lot of very fine police work done in 1991 in this case. The issue here is that some of this testing wasn't available in 1991. Do I have a concern, no I don't. We're here to seek justice," he said.
Once the defense prepares a list of all the evidence to be tested it must be approved by the district attorney. It will then move on to the judge for final approval. The items will then be taken out of storage and sent off for testing at
NMS labs in suburban Philadelphia.
The Innocence Project will cover all costs.