Patrick Kenney, 22, msg since 2-1-05 - Bryan Sedlak on trial for his murder

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http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/18693398/detail.html

Witness: Missing Jefferson Hills Man's Body Cut, Burned With Acid
Prosecutors Say Pittsburgh Man Rolled Kenney Into Carpet

POSTED: 5:11 pm EST February 11, 2009
UPDATED: 5:18 pm EST February 11, 2009

PITTSBURGH -- The homicide trial for Bryan Sedlak continued Wednesday at the Allegheny County Courthouse, with disturbing testimony from a man who claims to have seen the defendant with Patrick Kenney on the day Kenney died.

Kenney, 22, of Jefferson Hills, disappeared on Feb. 1, 2005. His body still has not been found, although his Cadillac Escalade was recovered in Pittsburgh's Greenfield neighborhood, near Sedlak's home.

Prosecution witness Robert Hoover testified that Sedlak brought him to the former Water's Edge tanning salon in Homestead on Feb. 3, 2005, and told Hoover that he had killed someone.

Hoover said that he saw a body in the salon, and that Sedlak kicked and jumped on the person and beat him with a .22-caliber rifle as he was dying.

"I saw the body rolled up in a carpet ... he said he cut up the body and skinned it and put the skin in sulfuric acid," Hoover testified.

Hoover went on to say that he was asked to help Sedlak get rid of the body, but "I told Bryan I didn't want to have anything to do with this. I don't even want to be on this stand."

http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/2005/0502/4439311_240X180.jpg
Patrick Kenney

Defense attorneys have said that Sedlak acted in self-defense after Kenney tried to rob him of money and drugs.

On Monday, Richard Roscoe Jr. -- a self-proclaimed dealer who was granted immunity -- told the jury that he sold cocaine to Kenney in the parking lot of the Baltimore House restaurant in Pleasant Hills on Feb. 2, 2005. He said Kenney was with a man named Bryan, although he could not say whether it was Bryan Sedlak.

Testimony resumes Friday morning before Judge Jeffrey Manning at the courthouse downtown.

http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/2007/0917/14134948_240X180.jpg

Previous Stories:
February 10, 2009: Pittsburgh Murder Trial: Self-Defense Claimed, Drug Deal Described, Body Still Missing
March 12, 2008: Pittsburgh Homicide Suspect Back In Jail For Different Case
November 2, 2007: Witness: Slaying Suspect Admitted To Skinning, Cutting Up Body
September 18, 2007: 2 Years After Young Jefferson Hills Man Vanishes, Murder Arrest Made
July 12, 2005: Young Jefferson Hills Man Still Missing; Reward Grows

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Pittsburgh Man's Story Called 'Fairy Tale' In Missing Body Trial

Both Sides Rest; Case In Hands Of Jury Now

PITTSBURGH - The jury charged with deciding the fate of a man accused of killing and dismembering Patrick Kenney will return Wednesday morning to deliberate.

Stay with WTAE Channel 4 Action News and ThePittsburghChannel.com for news of a verdict when it happens.

Kenney, 22, of Jefferson Hills, disappeared in February 2005 and his body was never found. Prosecutors are asking for a first-degree murder verdict against Bryan Sedlak, 37, of Pittsburgh's Greenfield neighborhood.

In his closing argument Tuesday, defense attorney Paul Boas argued that the killing was "clearly not premeditated, not malicious," and that the prosecution is based on guesswork.

Jurors started their deliberations shortly before noon. After about an hour, they asked Manning to repeat the definitions of first-degree murder, third-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter. Then, the jury continued deliberating.

Sedlak testified last week that he had to shoot Kenney after the two men spent a day doing cocaine and Kenney tried to rob him at the tanning salon he owned in Homestead.


Boas told the jury, "You can abhor Bryan Sedlak for not calling police, but can you say you're convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that it's not self-defense?"

Assistant District Attorney Lisa Pellegrini told the jury that Sedlak is "arrogant enough to think that he's smarter than you ... that you're going to buy that story ... the fairy tale he told from the stand."

Pellegrini recalled that when Sedlak was on the witness stand, she asked him if he is an intelligent person and he answered, "smarter than most."

Sedlak denied allegations of dismembering or destroying Kenney's body. He said a friend, Robert Hoover, came to the tanning business and told him he'd remove the body, but he said the friend never told him what he planned to do with it.

"He (Kenney) was well coached. He knows the law," Pellegrini said. "He had four years to prepare for this story he told you."

Hoover, who is not charged with any crime, testified that he came to the tanning salon at Sedlak's request but decided to leave because he wanted nothing to do with moving the body.

Pellegrini claims that Sedlak "got rid of the evidence" -- namely, the body -- and that it was not self-defense to shoot Kenney nine times. She also said Sedlak showed no remorse and was "matter of fact" about the killing.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29237610/

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Body still missing, but man convicted in killing
Could spend 42 years in prison, but less if he will tell where victim is
Thursday, February 19, 2009
By Daniel Malloy, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
After tracking the case of a missing Jefferson Hills man for more than two years, investigators figured they had their man. But they still didn't have a body.

So, according to sources close to the case, prosecutors made Bryan Sedlak an offer: Two to four years in prison for voluntary manslaughter if Mr. Sedlak revealed the location of Patrick Kenney's corpse.

He declined and decided to take his chances in a jury trial.

Mr. Sedlak, 37, of Greenfield, took the witness stand last week claiming that he killed Mr. Kenney in self-defense when the victim tried to rob him of money and drugs. He claimed ignorance of the body's location, saying a friend -- cocaine dealer Robert Hoover -- got rid of the corpse and wouldn't tell where it is.

Yesterday, an Allegheny County jury convicted Mr. Sedlak of third-degree murder and abuse of a corpse.

Those crimes combine to carry a maximum sentence of 21 to 42 years in prison, though Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey A. Manning indicated that, again, it might be less if Mr. Sedlak gives up the body.

"If he wants anything less than the maximum penalty allowed by law, he might want to rethink his story," Judge Manning told defense attorney Paul Boas as he revoked Mr. Sedlak's bond and sent him to jail.

The Kenney family, elated by the verdict, said they were still aching to know what really happened to Patrick.

"We hope Bryan Sedlak finally tells us the truth and tells us where Patrick Kenney's body is," said the victim's brother, J.P. Kenney.

He was joined by parents James and Ellen Kenney in the front row of the courtroom gallery throughout five days of sometimes jarring testimony that explored the depths of Patrick Kenney's cocaine addiction and included gruesome possibilities about what happened to the body.

The trial began with a surprise admission from the defense. Attorney Lisa Middleman, in her opening statement, said Mr. Sedlak killed Mr. Kenney -- but he did it in self-defense.

Even Judge Manning -- in a conversation with attorneys when jurors were out of the room -- later said he was shocked that the defense would admit that without a body to show it.

But the defense was able to use prosecution testimony to bolster its argument. Four witnesses testified that Mr. Sedlak told them he killed Mr. Kenney and asked for help moving the body, and all said Mr. Sedlak told them Mr. Kenney was trying to rob him at the time.

Then Mr. Sedlak took the stand, saying that Mr. Kenney was in the midst of a 24-hour cocaine binge Feb. 2, 2005, when the two were in the back of the Waters Edge Tanning Salon in Homestead, which Mr. Sedlak owned and was renovating at the time.

He said Mr. Kenney -- out of coke and desperate for more -- tried to rob him and shot at him three times with a pistol before Mr. Sedlak returned fire with a .22-caliber rifle, killing him.

Mr. Sedlak testified that instead of going to police, he went to Mr. Hoover out of fear because there was cocaine involved. He said Mr. Hoover got rid of the body and never told him how.

Mr. Hoover testified that he saw the body but didn't help dispose of it. He said Mr. Sedlak later bragged about the killing around Greenfield and told Mr. Hoover he had skinned Mr. Kenney and dumped some of the skin into sulfuric acid.

In failed motions to dismiss the charges and in his closing, Mr. Boas argued strenuously that prosecutors did not disprove self-defense.

He said Assistant District Attorney Lisa Pellegrini used details that happened after the killing to distract from the fact that she didn't have enough evidence to prove a murder. Ms. Pellegrini said Mr. Sedlak's cover-up was proof enough that he felt guilty about an unjustified killing, and his testimony had too many holes.

The jury of seven women and five men deliberated for more than 10 hours over two days before siding with the prosecution.

"I'm disappointed with the verdict, and I'm not sure how the jury arrived at it," said Mr. Boas, who appeared crestfallen. He added that he saw several grounds on which to appeal, but he would not reveal specifics, saying, "The fight's not over."

The verdict ends a four-year saga for the Kenney family and prosecutors. Allegheny County homicide Sgt. Scott Scherer said he has talked to Ellen Kenney on the phone probably twice a week since February 2005.

"Today is Patrick Kenney's day," J.P. Kenney said. "He's looking down from heaven and he's very happy."

Still, Mr. Kenney's earthly resting place remains a mystery.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09050/950209-85.stm

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Sentencing Postponed While Police Hunt For Missing Body
Bryan Sedlak Convicted Of Killing Patrick Kenny

UPDATED: 12:01 pm EDT May 18, 2009

PITTSBURGH -- Sentencing for a Pittsburgh man found guilty of third-degree murder has been postponed while authorities search for the victim's body.

Bryan Sedlak, 37, of the Greenfield neighborhood, was found guilty of killing Patrick Kenney, 22, of Jefferson Hills.

Kenney disappeared after leaving his parents' home around dinnertime one night in February 2005. Sedlak was convicted, even though Kenny's body had never been found.

Channel 4 Action News' Ari Hait reported that on Friday, Sedlak's attorney called prosecutors and said her client was ready to lead them to the body.

Officers searched an undisclosed area for eight hours and recovered vertebrae, tailbone and a right and left femur. All of the bones showed evidence of being cut by a power saw, Hait reported.

The district attorney said the remains are being sent to a lab for DNA testing. The results are not expected for four to six weeks.

Because of the new developments, Judge Jeffrey Manning postponed sentencing until Aug. 11.

Sedlak testified that he shot Kenney at the former Water's Edge tanning salon, which Sedlak was renovating in Homestead, because Kenney tried to attack and rob him after they spent hours doing cocaine together.

Sedlak was also found guilty of abuse of a corpse because the jury did not buy his story that the body was moved by a friend who never told Sedlak what he did with it.

Kenney's sport utility vehicle was found parked on a street near Sedlak's home shortly after he disappeared, but Sedlak was not charged until two years later, when county police got accounts from a witness who saw Sedlak with the body rolled up in a carpet at the tanning salon.

Sedlak faces a maximum possible sentence of 20 to 40 years in prison. The judge indicated Sedlak may get a lighter sentence if he led authorities to Kenny's remains.

Previous Stories:
February 18, 2009: Body Missing, But Pittsburgh Man Guilty Of Tan Salon Murder
February 11, 2009: Witness: Missing Jefferson Hills Man's Body Cut, Burned
February 10, 2009: Pittsburgh Murder Trial: Self-Defense Claimed, Drug Deal Described, Body Still Missing
March 12, 2008: Pittsburgh Homicide Suspect Back In Jail For Different Case
November 2, 2007: Witness: Slaying Suspect Admitted To Skinning, Cutting Up Body
September 18, 2007: 2 Years After Young Jefferson Hills Man Vanishes, Murder Arrest Made
http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/allegheny/19492038/detail.html

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4 years later, location of murder victim's body revealed
Monday, May 18, 2009
By Daniel Malloy, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
More than four years after Patrick Kenney's death, his remains, sawed to pieces by his killer, apparently have been found.

Bryan Sedlak, the Greenfield man who was convicted of third-degree murder for the killing in February, led authorities to a remote, undisclosed location, where they found bones that appeared to have been cut up with a power saw.
Mr. Sedlak, 37, was scheduled to be sentenced this morning by Allegheny County Judge Jeffrey A. Manning, who told Mr. Sedlak's attorney after his conviction that he could get a break on the sentence if he revealed Mr. Kenney's final resting place.

Assistant District Attorney Lisa Pellegrini told Judge Manning this morning that the remains could not be identified as Mr. Kenney for several weeks, so the sentencing was rescheduled for Aug. 11.

Mr. Sedlak's defense team contacted prosecutors on Friday with a last-minute proposal to reveal the remains. After searching for hours, Ms. Pellegrini said, police found four vertebrae, a pelvis, a tailbone and the top portions of a right and left femur. The bones were transported to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner's office, where they will be tested against DNA submitted by Mr. Kenney's parents.

Ms. Pellegrini said that Mr. Sedlak was less forthcoming than he could have been about the location of the remains. Ms. Pellegrini asked that Mr. Sedlak be more precise in describing where the body is because the family is especially interested in finding Mr. Kenney's skull.

The area they are searching -- which Judge Manning said will not be disclosed to protect the scientific integrity of the site -- is too wide even to take cadaver dogs, Ms. Pellegrini said.

Mr. Sedlak's attorney, Paul Boas, protested that his client has been as compliant as possible with prosecutors' demands.

Mr. Sedlak, shackled and dressed in a black suit, was emotionless during the brief hearing. Mr. Kenney's family, seated in the front row of the gallery, looked on with the same quiet sadness they showed during the trial.

In February, Mr. Sedlak testified that a friend, cocaine dealer Robert Hoover, got rid of the body and never told him where he put it. Mr. Hoover denied aiding in getting rid of the corpse. Mr. Sedlak said he only heard rumors later about the whereabouts of Mr. Kenney, 22, of Jefferson Hills.

Mr. Sedlak admitted killing Mr. Kenney with a rifle Feb. 2, 2005, but said it was in self-defense as Mr. Kenney tried to rob him in the midst of a cocaine binge.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09138/970970-100.stm?cmpid=latest.xml
Daniel Malloy can be reached at dmalloy@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1731.