Thursday, March 19, 2009
An Indiana County jury found a state trooper guilty of first-degree murder for the slaying of Blairsville dentist John Yelenic in 2006.
The seven-man, five-woman jury deliberated just more than five hours, reaching the verdict just after 10 p.m. Wednesday.
Kevin James Foley, 43, of White, who was suspended following his arrest in September 2007, showed no reaction as the guilty verdict was read.
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Several family members and friends of Yelenic who attended all eight days of the trial broke down and cried as the verdict was read.
The verdict carries a mandatory penalty of life in prison. Judge William J. Martin scheduled a sentencing hearing for 8:30 a.m. June 1.
Earlier yesterday, Foley repeatedly testified that he did not kill Yelenic.
Foley calmly told the jury, "No, I did not," when his attorney, Richard Galloway, asked whether he killed Yelenic, 39, on April 13, 2006.
Foley was living with the dentist's estranged wife, Michele Yelenic, at the time Yelenic was slashed and stabbed to death in his Blairsville home. The Yelenics were embroiled in a bitter divorce at the time of his death, including allegations of child molestation.
Foley was on the stand for several hours. Just before noon, Senior Deputy Attorney General Anthony Krastek began cross-examining him.
More than 100 people crowded into the spectator gallery to hear Foley's testimony. About 50 people were kept out outside Judge William J. Martin's courtroom because there were not enough seats.
Krastek accused Foley of taking a detour on his way home from a Fraternal Order of Police hockey game in Delmont, stopping in Blairsville and slashing and stabbing Yelenic, then pushing the dentist's head through a window.
Krastek alleges the 13-year trooper was bitter over the Yelenics' pending divorce settlement.
One of the most dramatic moments yesterday occurred when Galloway retrieved an evidence bag and produced Foley's white F.O.P. hockey sweater as evidence.
Numerous state police investigators have testified that they could not find the white sweater during two searches of Foley's home after the slaying.
On cross-examination, Krastek questioned Foley about the numerous times he told fellow state troopers and friends that he wished Yelenic were dead.
"Help me. Is it funny when you asked Trooper Dan Zenisek that you wanted help killing John Yelenic? What's so funny about that? Tell me the joke," Krastek said.
Foley replied, "There isn't any joke. It's just my personality, my behavior (with co-workers)."
Krastek asked "whether they were all jokes" in each instance that he told co-workers and strangers he wanted the dentist dead.
"Yes, sir. I never made a threat with the intention of carrying it out," Foley said.
In the United States, a suspended Pennsylvania state trooper has been convicted of first-degree murder for killing his girlfriend's estranged husband.

Kevin Foley, 43, faces a mandatory life sentence without parole for slashing to death John Yelenic, a Blairsville dentist who was in the final stages of divorcing his wife, Michele. Foley's attorney said he plans to appeal the decision. Prosecutors did not seek the death penalty.

Foley previously said he "loathed Dr. Yelenic" and asked another fellow trooper to help kill him. During his testimony, which lasted several hours, Foley claimed he was joking and had no true intention of carrying out the threat, but the Indiana County jury rejected that defense after about six hours of deliberations. 

John Yelenic was found dead in his home on April 13, 2006, one day before he was planning on signing his divorce papers. Charges were brought against Foley in September 2007, more than 17 months after the murder.

Foley, who had been on suspension from the Pennsylvania State Police, was himself the final witness to take the stand Wednesday in the trial. Foley insisted he was innocent during his testimony, and even made jokes that the jury laughed at on a few occasions.

"I never made a threat with the intention of carrying it out," Foley said under cross-examination by the prosecution.

When Senior Deputy Attorney General Anthony Krastek pressed Foley for what was funny about asking another state trooper to help him kill Yelenic, Foley answered, "There isn't any joke. It's just my personality, my behavior (with co-workers)."

Prosecutors said Foley killed Yelenic after going to the dentist's house to confront him over the terms of the divorce. Prosecutors claim Foley slashed Yelenic several times with a knife and pushed his head through a small window. Yelenic bled to death.

"John has his justice tonight," Mary Ann Clark, a cousin of Yelenic, told MSNBC. "John deserved this; he was the most wonderful person in the world. He died the most horrible death and tonight, this is his night. The system worked."

Foley had been living with Michele Yelenic for two years at the time of the homicide. Prosecutors previously said Foley and Michele helped perpetuate rumors that Dr. Yelenic molested their son. John and Michele Yelenic had been separated in 2002. Michele Yelenic stood to collect Dr. Yelenic's estate and a US$1 million life insurance policy, and could lose about $2,500 a month in support if the divorce was finalized, a Pennsylvania grand jury previously determined.

Michele Yelenic, who has not appeared at the trial, may face legal action herself, media reports indicated. A sentencing hearing for Foley is scheduled for June 1.