Dr. Robert Ferrante charged in Cyanide poisoning of his wife, Dr. Autumn Marie Klein -- Pittsburgh, PA -- Found Guilty

WPXI ‏@WPXI 7m7 minutes ago

The #cyanidetrial jury has been deliberating for 15 hours so far. When the jury reaches a verdict, we'll have it live on Channel 11

Alan Jennings @newsdog11 · 44s 45 seconds ago

Jury has question or it's a verdict . #cyanidetrial

No verdict yet; jury just wanted a break. I wonder how late they will stay there tonight.

WPXI news just said that the judge will check with the jury around 7 PM to see if they want to take a break or be done for the day.

We have a VERDICT!  

Watch live: http://www.wpxi.com/videos/news/wpxi-live-news/vsQ2Z/

Key players heading towards the courtroom. Verdict to be read as soon as all parties arrive. Could be up to a half hour from now.

Mandatory life sentence without parole.

Sounds like some of the jurors plan to talk to the press when they get back to the hotel.  WPXI will broadcast it here:

http://www.wpxi.com/videos/news/wpxi-live-news/vsQ2Z/

Listening. Thanks for the links, CP.

WPXI ‏@WPXI 5m5 minutes ago

Ferrante was emotionless when jury announced decision, says @newsdog11. He seemed unmoved. #CyanideTrial

Said he was almost giddy earlier in the belief he had gotten off.
http://www.wpxi.com/videos/news/wpxi-live-news/vsQ2Z/

You're welcome, Freckles!

BREAKING: GUILTY verdict in Cyanide Trial
Updated: 6:54 p.m. Friday, Nov. 7, 2014 | Posted: 3:55 p.m. Friday, Nov. 7, 2014

BREAKING NEWS: Channel 11's Alan Jennings reports that a jury has found Dr. Robert Ferrante guilty of first-degree murder.



Stick with Channel 11 News and WPXI.com for more information on this breaking story as it becomes available.

http://www.wpxi.com/news/news/local/robert-ferrante-pittsburgh-cyanide-trial-verdict/nh2Tp/

Commentator said insurmountable evidence against him.
Defense atty is "very disappointed." Said they worked hard on the defense and felt there was reasonable doubt. He is going home; will see his client tomorrow and explore appeals. Atty feels burden of proof was not met; felt after Wecht testified he was astounded jury did not feel a bigger impact with his testimony; felt a very good defense was presented; over 60 to 70 search warrants which many were suppressed; 80 warrants they had to go thru; he will seek advice from appellate counsel. Def will spend the rest of is life behind bars. Some grounds to appeal in the next years. Not a DP case. Sentencing in Feb. 2015

CuriousPortlander wrote:
You're welcome, Freckles!

You know, AD will be pleased with the findings by this jury!

I have to ask... any possibility he might have smuggled some back for his own personal use?

Freckles wrote:I have to ask... any possibility he might have smuggled some back for his own personal use?

Good question, but I doubt it.  I think they are searched pretty thoroughly when going from holding cell to court and back, especially if they are changing into street clothes each time, which he did.

I wonder if he thinks it was worth it, seeing as he's going to die in prison.

Jurors: Ferrante's testimony hurt his defense in wife's cyanide killing
November 7, 2014 9:54 PM


Three jurors spoke publicly after the verdict.

..."I hope we did justice for them," Lance DeWeese, juror No. 6 and a resident of Green Tree, said. "We have to feel like we did right and tonight I feel right. I feel at peace."

Jurors said the key factors in their decision included the level of cyanide in Dr. Klein's blood, Mr. Ferrante's changing stories during testimony, and his numerous Google searches on cyanide and cyanide poisoning.

"Obviously there was cyanide in the blood and we took into consideration all sides and the main consideration was the 2.2 cyanide level," jury foreman Brian Maitz, of Ross, said. "We determined that was the best test we could have and the lady that delivered the test has been there 37 years. That was a crutch right there that I knew she was doing her job."

...Mr. Ferrante taking the stand hurt his case, the jurors said.

Ms. Ewing said he had ”excellent coaches.”

"He had a year to think about the story he wanted to tell," she said.

For Mr. DeWeese it was the changing stories.

"This is just a crazy twist and turn. We had heard from day one that Robert Ferrante was downstairs," he said. "One of the last ones to take the stand was Bob Ferrante and all of the sudden the story changes where I'm upstairs and he hears Autumn come in the door."

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2014/11/07/Jury-reaches-verdict-in-cyanide-poisoning-case/stories/201411070210

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This site also has copies of the statements from the Klein family, as well as the DA.

Statement from Klein family:

"On behalf of our daughter Autumn, we would like to thank the District Attorneys Office, the Pittsburgh Police Department, UPMC and the Center for Victims for all of the help they have given us over the past 18 months.

"We would also like to thank the members of the jury for their hard work.

"While we are pleased that the person responsible for Autumn’s death has been brought to justice, nothing will ever fill the emptiness that we feel in our family and in our hearts. Our daughter was not only in the prime of her life, but also in the prime of a promising medical career. She had such enthusiasm for living and working and now we are left to ask how many lives she would have made more comfortable and productive had she been able to live her own life.

"Autumn also adored being a mom to Cianna and now we have a beautiful little girl who will grow up never being able to ask all the questions that girls ask of their mom.

"Someone once said that when someone you love dies so young, you can either be sad at what will never be, or be joyful of the time you had with that person. We will always enjoy the memory of Autumn’s time with us, but it is hard not to be forever saddened by the time that has been so cruelly taken away."

Statement from District Attorney's Office:

"Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. would like to thank the members of the jury for their hard work in what was obviously a very difficult task, both emotionally and physically.

"Additionally, there are always a large number of agencies and individuals who work together in the course of a criminal prosecution and their efforts should not go unnoticed.

"Finally, the District Attorney would like to express his deepest gratitude to the members of the Klein family, especially Mr. and Mrs. Klein for the quiet strength and dignity they have shown over the past year and a half."

Read more:  http://www.wpxi.com/news/news/local/robert-ferrante-pittsburgh-cyanide-trial-verdict/nh2Tp/

Freckles wrote:

CuriousPortlander wrote:
You're welcome, Freckles!

You know, AD will be pleased with the findings by this jury!  

Freckles, as a matter of fact, I'm elated. After reading the two questions that the jury asked during deliberations, I had hopes that they were going to reach the right conclusion. I'm glad Autumn's family can have some kind of closure. I feel terribly sorry for the horrible manner in which she died, and for the effects that her death had on her family and friends; I feel specially bad for Autumn's little girl. This is a very sad and tragic case. Robert Ferrante is callous, cold and calculating, he thought he could get away with murder. He got what he deserves.

@CuriousPortlander:

Thank you so much for the step by step news updates!

Ferrante jurors to Klein family: 'I hope we did justice for them' (Video)

Jury in Pittsburgh cyanide poisoning trial finds Robert Ferrante guilty of murdering wife Dr. Autumn Klein

UPDATED 12:44 PM EST Nov 08, 2014

Read more:

http://www.wtae.com/news/ferrante-jurors-to-klein-family-i-hope-we-did-justice-for-them/29613480#ixzz3Ie534Vzn

Autumn Klein's family sues Ferrante for assets
November 14, 2014 3:01 PM


An attorney representing Autumn Klein's mother and daughter today sued Robert Ferrante, the University of Pittsburgh medical researcher who was found guilty last week of fatally poisoning his wife, Dr. Klein, with cyanide last year.

The suit was filed by John P. Gismondi in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court.

"Mr. Ferrante has assets and the purpose of this civil claim is to make sure that those assets are obtained for [daughter] Cianna's benefit," Mr. Gismondi said in a statement.

...Prosecutors claim in the filing that Ferrante made "suspicious transfers of assets" shortly after the murder involving safe deposit boxes, a car and bank accounts.

Mr. Ferrante put the names of his two children from a previous marriage on some of the assets, the DA's office said.

"The use of safe deposit boxes to hide large sums of cash and property and the joint-titling of said boxes demonstrates that the Defendant has the wherewithal and desire to make his considerable assets unavailable should he choose to do so," the petition said.


Read more:  http://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2014/11/14/Autumn-Klein-s-family-sues-Ferrante-for-assets-Pittsburgh/stories/201411140201

Dr. Nicole Kotchey, 35yo
Pittsburgh, PA



Researcher at UPMC killed by CYANIDE a week after doctor at the same Pittsburgh hospital was convicted of poisoning his wife


Nicole Kotchey, 35, collapsed at her desk at Magee Womens Hospital of UPMC November 12 and died hours later
Medical examiner is not sure whether her death was a homicide, suicide or accident
Researcher died the same week a jury convicted Dr Robert Ferrante of poisoning his wife, Dr Autumn Klein, with cyanide

By Associated Press and Snejana Farberov for MailOnline

Published: 15:29 EST, 28 November 2014

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2853507/UPMC-employee-died-cyanide-undetermined.html#ixzz3KPQldfSY
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

"....A former University of Pittsburgh researcher convicted last month of fatally poisoning his neurologist wife wants a judge to unfreeze his assets so he can pay his legal bills and establish a trust fund for their seven-year-old daughter.

Attorneys for Robert Ferrante, 66, argued in a court filing on Tuesday that a previous court order freezing his assets is violating his rights to fund his defence, and merely preserving the money so his wife’s family, and its attorney, have assets to go after in a wrongful death suit, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported on Thursday.

John Gismondi, who represents Dr Autumn Klein’s mother, Lois, in that lawsuit, said he does not necessarily oppose a trust fund, since any money won in the suit would be used to compensate Ferrante and Klein’s daughter, Cianna. But he objects to Ferrante’s request that the trust be administered by Ferrante’s adult son from a previous marriage, a financial planner who lives near Boston...."


http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/dec/12/doctor-wife-cyanide-pennsylvania-unfreeze-assets

"....Only seven people in the US died of cyanide poisoning in 2012; almost as many were killed by lightning this year in Florida alone. But at one medical center in Pittsburgh, two women have died of it in two years, both in mysterious circumstances. ..."

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/dec/11/mystery-cyanide-kills-second-woman-pennsylvania-hospital
Other links on right side:

http://article.wn.com/view/2014/12/12/In_mysterious_case_hospital_sees_second_death_from_cyanide_p/

Robert Ferrante seeks to establish trust fund for his daughter
December 11, 2014 12:08 AM

The neuroscientist found guilty of killing his wife with cyanide last month has asked a judge to unfreeze his assets so that he can put his money in an irrevocable trust for his 7-year-old daughter.

Robert Ferrante’s motion comes nearly a month after his mother-in-law, Lois Klein, filed a wrongful death suit against him in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court seeking damages for her granddaughter, Cianna, whom she and her husband, William, are now raising in Maryland.

Read more:  http://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2014/12/11/Ferrante-seeks-to-establish-trust-fund-for-his-daughter/stories/201412110177

Week before sentencing, Ferrante seeks acquittal or new trial
By Adam Brandolph  Friday, Jan. 30, 2015, 6:39 p.m.

An Allegheny County jury had more than enough evidence to convict Robert Ferrante of first-degree murder for the death of his wife, prosecutors said in response to the former University of Pittsburgh researcher's request that a judge overturn his conviction or grant him a new trial.

“The Commonwealth admitted ample evidence that supported a finding of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt,” Assistant District Attorneys Lisa Pellegrini and Kevin Chernosky wrote in a motion filed Friday afternoon.

Ferrante's lawyers, Bill Difenderfer and Wendy Williams, filed a request Thursday seeking a judgment of acquittal or a new trial, claiming the jury's verdict “rested solely on circumstantial evidence.”


Read more:  http://triblive.com/news/allegheny/7676916-74/klein-ferrante-cyanide#axzz3QdYSW5Hr

Ferrante attorneys ask to lift no-contact motion between his kids & Cianna Ferrante
February 2, 2015 5:54 PM

Attorneys for Robert Ferrante filed a motion today asking that a no-contact order prohibiting his adult children from having contact with his young daughter be lifted.

The order prohibiting contact was entered on July 24, 2013, prohibiting any contact between Cianna Ferrante and her adult half-siblings, Kimberly and Michael Ferrante, because the prosecution alleged that the little girl could have been a fact witness in the case.

Read more:  http://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2015/02/02/Ferrante-attorneys-ask-to-lift-no-contact-motion-between-his-kids-Cianna-Ferrante/stories/201502020185

Pittsburgh researcher to face life term, victim's family
Associated Press   By JOE MANDAK 38 minutes ago

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A former University of Pittsburgh Medical Center researcher faces a mandatory life sentence — and likely the wrath of his dead wife's family — when he's sentenced for first-degree murder in her cyanide poisoning death.

Robert Ferrante, 66, was convicted in November. Prosecutors didn't pursue the death penalty, so Allegheny County Judge Jeffrey Manning has no option but to impose a life sentence without parole on Wednesday.

Read more:  http://news.yahoo.com/pittsburgh-researcher-face-life-term-victims-family-050540992.html

Pittsburgh researcher sentenced to life in prison, no parole for wife’s cyanide killing
Updated: 12:31 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2015 | Posted: 11:32 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2015

PITTSBURGH — A former University of Pittsburgh Medical Center researcher has been sentenced to a mandatory term of life in prison without possibility of parole in the cyanide poisoning death of his neurologist wife.  

Sixty-six-year-old Robert Ferrante was convicted in the fall of first-degree murder in the April 2013 death of 41-year-old Dr. Autumn Klein. Prosecutors said he laced her energy drink with cyanide.  

Read more:  http://www.wpxi.com/news/news/local/cyanide-robert-ferrante-autumn-klein-sentenced/nj34j/

Lois Klein's Victim Impact Statement:

http://media.cmgdigital.com/shared/news/documents/2015/02/04/Lois_Klein_Victim_Impact.pdf

Ferrante Formally Sentenced To Life In Prison In Cyanide Poisoning Case
February 4, 2015 9:01 AM

...Prior to the sentencing, the defense made one last pitch for a new trial.

Attorney William Difenderfer said the evidence against his client was circumstantial and there was no proof that he poisoned his wife.

However, the judge rejected the motion.

(BBM)

Read more:  http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2015/02/04/ferrante-to-be-sentenced-to-life-in-prison-in-cyanide-poisoning-case/

Thanks, CP.
Pleased he will not be getting out.
What he did was so grievous.
Not just to his wife, the daughter and his wife's family, but to the science community as well. Totally irresponsible and calloused.

Dateline: "Lethal Weapon"

You may watch this on your computer.
No link yet so google it.
It is not showing on the computer until tomorrow, however.

Show explores some of the forensics behind the conviction of Autumn's husband for her death by cyanide. Interesting interviews with family and colleagues.

Judge denies appeal in cyanide poisoning death case
66-year-old Robert Ferrante sentenced to life in prison last fall
UPDATED 8:11 PM EDT Apr 01, 2015

PITTSBURGH —A judge has rejected a defense appeal to overturn the verdict or grant a new trial to a former western Pennsylvania medical researcher convicted in the cyanide poisoning death of his neurologist wife.

http://www.wtae.com/news/Judge-denies-appeal-in-cyanide-poisoning-death-case/32141180

Freckles wrote:Dateline: "Lethal Weapon"

You may watch this on your computer.
No link yet so google it.
It is not showing on the computer until tomorrow, however.

Show explores some of the forensics behind the conviction of Autumn's husband for her death by cyanide. Interesting interviews with family and colleagues.

I saw that last night.


Here's the link:  http://www.nbc.com/dateline/video/dateline-april-2-2015/2855926?onid=209511#vc209511=1

Ferrante files paperwork in appealing conviction in wife's cyanide death
June 1, 2015 12:02 PM

...Robert Ferrante's defense attorney filed his summary of appealable issues, alleging five issues he believes led to a faulty verdict.

...Among the claims listed by attorney Chris Rand Eyster are that the prosecution's search warrants were overbroad and should have been suppressed by the court and that the court held improper conversations without defense attorneys present with prosecutors about Ferrante's daughter, who they claimed was a potential witness in the case.

Read more:  http://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2015/06/01/university-of-pittsburgh-upmc-autumn-klein-oakland-Ferrante-files-paperwork-in-appealing-conviction-in-wife-s-cyanide-death/stories/201506010148

Trial court upholds Ferrante conviction in cyanide poisoning case

September 20, 2016 11:12 PM
By Paula Reed Ward / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The former University of Pittsburgh researcher found guilty of first-degree murder for killing his wife with cyanide in 2013 has lost his initial appeal.

Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey A. Manning wrote in a 45-page opinion that Robert Ferrante’s conviction was driven by expert testimony about the cause of death, further supported by circumstantial evidence of marital discord and Google searches on how a medical examiner can detect the presence of cyanide.

“It was for the jury to decide if they accepted the opinion of the commonwealth witnesses on the issue of causation or if the testimony of the defendant’s witnesses were sufficient to raise a reasonable doubt,” Judge Manning wrote. “By their verdict, the jury made it clear that they credited the testimony of the commonwealth’s witness.”

Ferrante’s appellate attorney, Chris Eyster, said they will appeal.

“We respect Judge Manning, but we disagree with his opinion. We will challenge every aspect of the opinion,” Mr. Eyster said. “We believe Ferrante will get a new trial and more reliable scientific evidence will be presented in the courtroom than in the first trial.”

Read more:

http://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2016/09/20/Trial-court-upholds-Ferrante-conviction/stories/201609200171

Just thinking...

It is amazing to me that despicable individuals contemplating crimes have not yet figured out that cell phone tower pings and internet usage/searches are valuable law enforcement evidence.