Roland Steele

Case record: Roland Steele

Roland Steele was a 39-year-old karate expert from Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, when he was convicted in Washington County of three counts of first-degree murder.

He was convicted in connection with the deaths of three elderly women in Washington County. Steele abducted them from a parking lot of a shopping center, took them to a wooded area, and beat them to death in a “karate-style” assault.

Victims

Steele’s convictions related to:

• Lucille Horner, 88
• Minnie Warwick, 86
• Sarah Knutz, 85

Timeline

• March 25, 1988 — Steele was formally sentenced to death.
• June 5, 1999 — The state Supreme Court affirmed the death sentences.
• June 1996 — Steele’s petition for post-conviction relief was pending in the Court of Common Pleas of Washington County.
• June 1985 — Steele abducted three women from a Washington County shopping mall.
• January 22, 1986 — An Erie County jury, seated in Washington County, sentenced Steele to death.
• December 2008 — The state Supreme Court affirmed the lower court’s denial of post-conviction relief.
• March 2009 — The state Supreme Court denied reargument, which lifted the stay of execution.
• April 21, 2009 — Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell signed an execution warrant for Roland William Steele.
• June 18, 2009 — Execution was set for June 18.

The offence

Steele’s convictions arose from brutal assaults upon elderly women in Washington County.

The women were kidnapped from a parking lot, taken to a wooded area, and beaten to death, “karate-style.”

The bodies of 88-year-old Lucille Horner, 86-year-old Minnie Warrick, and 85-year-old Sarah Knutz were found later in a tire dump in Cecil Township, Washington County.

Investigation

Police said the women were victims of a karate-style beating.

In 1986, Washington County District Attorney John Pettit said:

"The credit cards over by his girlfriend's brother's home - there was just so much that it wasn't like as if we were trying to convict somebody on an item or two of circumstantial evidence," said Pettit in 1986.

He added:

"There was an overwhelming amount coupled with the fact that the victim's hair was found on his clothing and that's something that's very difficult to escape," he said.

Sentencing

A jury deliberated for forty-five minutes before sentencing Steele to death.

An account of the sentencing described Steele as being in his 40s when an Erie County jury, seated in Washington County, took just 35 minutes to sentence him to death, with the date then given as January 22, 1986.

Steele was formally sentenced to death on March 25, 1988.

Appeals

The state Supreme Court affirmed Steele’s death sentences on June 5, 1999.

Steele’s petition for post-conviction relief had been pending in the Court of Common Pleas of Washington County since June 1996.

A 1999 execution warrant issued by then-Governor Tom Ridge was stayed by the Washington County Court of Common Pleas pending the outcome of the petition for post-conviction relief.

The lower court denied post-conviction relief, and the state Supreme Court affirmed that judgment in December 2008 and denied reargument in March 2009, which lifted the stay of execution.

Outcome

Steele remained under a death sentence.

An execution warrant signed by Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell set the execution date for June 18. Steele was described as held at the State Correctional Institution at Greene.

Other details

When Steele’s sentencing date was discussed, it was noted that Steele’s mother thought the jury rejected his claim he was a victim of mistaken identity, based on race, and that the Washington County District Attorney at the time disagreed.

An additional statement about timing and subsequent action described the execution warrant as signed in 2009 by Governor Edward G. Rendell and that execution by lethal injection was set for June 18.

An additional quote from John Cypher of Canonsburg said:

"I think it's a shame that it does take that long," said John Cypher of Canonsburg.

He added:

"I'm for the death penalty. Unfortunately the way things are today with everyone's rights and the way the legal system is, not surprised it took that long and wouldn't be surprised if he outlives me."