Kelly O'Donnell

Case record: Kelly O'Donnell

People

• Kelly O'Donnell (defendant), age 25
• William Gribble (co-defendant), age 28
• Eleftherios Eleftheriou (victim), age 50; pizza shop owner
• Agnes McClinchey (Gribble’s mother; apartment owner)
• Mr. Ed Paduski (McClinchey’s described visit destination)
• James Mathews (elderly friend of McClinchey; resided in the apartment)
• Steven Sigal (lawyer for Kelly O'Donnell)
• Charles P. Mirarchi Jr. (defense lawyer for William Gribble)
• Assistant DA Thomas Perricone (prosecutor during Gribble’s penalty hearing)
• Dave Racher (journalist attribution in material)
• Assistant District Attorney David Webb, chief of the DA's homicide division
• Municipal Judge Louis J. Presenza
• Detective Dennis Dusak (Homicide Detective; interviewed O'Donnell)
• Detective Michael Gross (Homicide Detective; referenced during discussion; took Gribble’s statement)
• Robert Brett Dunham (Philadelphia; for K. O'Donnell)
• Catherine Marshall (Philadelphia; for the Com.)
• Karen A. Brancheau (Philadelphia; for the Com.)
• Robert A. Graci (Harrisburg; for Atty. General's Office)
• Supreme Court of Pennsylvania panel: FLAHERTY, C.J.; ZAPPALA, CAPPY, CASTILLE, NIGRO and NEWMAN, JJ.
• Justice NIGRO (opinion author)
• Justice CASTILLE (dissenting opinion author); Justice NEWMAN joined the dissent

Timeline

• November 11, 1992 — O’Donnell and her boyfriend murdered and dismembered Eleftherios Eleftheriou in Philadelphia.
• approximately 10:30 p.m., November 11, 1992 — O’Donnell went to Eleftherios Eleftheriou’s pizza shop, carrying a leather jacket offered as collateral for a loan; an employee observed Eleftheriou give her money after removing a large roll of money from his pocket.
• approximately 1:00 a.m., November 12, 1992 — Eleftheriou left in his car to meet O’Donnell.
• approximately 1:30 a.m., November 12, 1992 — O’Donnell met with Eleftheriou and brought him back to 3123 Richmond Street; she struck him in the head with a hammer and continued to beat him; she dismembered the body with a hacksaw and put the body parts in trash bags.
• November 12, 1992 — O’Donnell and Gribble dumped trash bags along Delaware Avenue; later that same evening, they used Eleftheriou’s car and credit card to go shopping.
• morning of November 13, 1992 — Philadelphia police received a report that someone had found body parts in a trash dump on North Delaware Avenue.
• later on November 13, 1992 — Agnes McClinchey returned to her apartment, found blood on her front door and on the carpet, and police responded to a report of a car on fire on D Street.
• approximately 7:30 p.m., November 13, 1992 — After the fire was extinguished, police found body parts inside the car identified as belonging to Eleftheriou.
• approximately 1:30 a.m., November 14, 1992 — After interviewing McClinchey, police arrested O’Donnell and Gribble at the apartment.
• June 7, 1993 — Trial judge found O’Donnell competent after a psychiatric examination.
• June 29, 1993 — Notes of Testimony referenced in discussion of Detective Michael Gross’s decision to enter without a warrant.
• July 1, 1993 — Following a bench penalty-phase hearing, the trial court found one aggravating factor and three mitigating circumstances and sentenced O’Donnell to death.
• August 11, 1994 — The trial court formally imposed the sentence of death on O’Donnell; appellate motions were denied.
• October 20, 1997 — Argued.
• October 28, 1999 — Decided.
• 2003 — O’Donnell was resentenced to life in prison.
• 2003 (as reflected in status field) — The legal status reflected that the death sentence was followed by resentencing.

Background

In early November 1992, Kelly O'Donnell and her boyfriend, William Gribble, were staying in an apartment at 3123 Richmond Street in Philadelphia. The apartment belonged to Agnes McClinchey, Gribble’s mother. McClinchey gave O’Donnell and Gribble permission to stay there while she went to visit Mr. Ed Paduski. James Mathews, an elderly friend of McClinchey, also resided in the apartment.

The offence

On November 11, 1992, O’Donnell and William Gribble murdered and dismembered Eleftherios Eleftheriou, a 50-year-old pizza shop owner, in Philadelphia. Pieces of the man’s body were found in trash bags along the Delaware River and on the street where O’Donnell lived.

O’Donnell carried a leather jacket to Eleftheriou’s pizza shop as collateral for a loan. An employee of the pizza shop observed Eleftheriou remove a large roll of money and give O’Donnell some money. O’Donnell and Eleftheriou made arrangements to meet later that evening.

After the pizza shop closed at approximately 1:00 a.m. on November 12, 1992, Eleftheriou left in his car to meet O’Donnell. In a confession later given to police and admitted at trial, O’Donnell stated that at approximately 1:30 a.m. on November 12, 1992, she met with Eleftheriou and brought him back to the apartment at 3123 Richmond Street. O’Donnell admitted that she struck Eleftheriou in the head with a hammer. After he fell to the floor, she stated that she continued to beat him with the hammer.

O’Donnell claimed she was motivated to kill Eleftheriou because he was a “pervert” who had previously sexually assaulted her. After beating him, O’Donnell stated that she took Eleftheriou’s body to the basement, dismembered it with a hacksaw, and put the body parts in trash bags. She also admitted that she cut off Eleftheriou’s penis and placed it in a pencil case with the intention of sending it to her father.

O’Donnell alleged she beat and dismembered Eleftheriou without Gribble’s help or knowledge, but she maintained that Gribble did help with disposing of the trash bags containing the body parts and that they dumped the trash bags along Delaware Avenue at some point on November 12, 1992. Later that same evening, she admitted that she and Gribble used Eleftheriou’s car and credit card to go shopping.

O’Donnell also described additional details in police statements:

• She told Detective Dennis Dusak: “I did it myself.”
• She said: “It took a while to cut it up, about an hour and a half, two hours. Billy had nothing to do with this. He had no knowledge of what was going on.”
• She said Eleftheriou had come to the apartment for sex, “but he got killed instead.”
• She said: “I beat him in the head with a hammer. I put the body in different trash bags.”
• She said: “I just got carried away.”
• When asked about why she cut off the victim’s penis, she claimed it was in retaliation for the time Eleftheriou masturbated in front of her on a prior occasion.
• When asked what she did with it after cutting it off, she answered: “I put it in a black and white pencil case.”
• She said she put it there because: “it’s plastic and it doesn’t leak all over. I was going to send it to my father, just to bust his b - - - - .”

In a statement to Homicide Detective Michael Gross, Gribble claimed he arrived home from a bar and saw Eleftheriou “all over Kelly” on the couch and “I freaked out.” Gribble said he grabbed a hammer and beat Eleftheriou with it. Later, he claimed he dropped the body into the basement and “I got my saw and started to cut him up.”

The prosecution’s version indicated Eleftheriou was “lured” to the apartment where O’Donnell and Gribble killed and robbed him. Assistant District Attorney David Webb said: “It would appear that they both were trying to cover for each other.”

At trial, the trial court accepted defense counsel’s assertion that O’Donnell wished to waive her right to a jury trial for the penalty phase, and both defendants waived their right to a jury trial at the guilt phase.

Investigation and evidence

Body parts were found in multiple locations after the killing:

• Police found severed arms of a white male, a human torso with its head missing, and a head with the left eye removed at a trash dump on North Delaware Avenue in the morning of November 13, 1992. These body parts were later identified as belonging to Eleftheriou.
• Police found a letter addressed to Agnes McClinchey at 3123 Richmond Street among papers strewn around the site.
• Later on November 13, 1992, police responded to a report of a car on fire on D Street; after extinguishing the fire, police found body parts inside the burning car later identified as belonging to Eleftheriou.

After interviewing McClinchey at a near-by gas station, police went to her apartment and arrested O’Donnell and Gribble at approximately 1:30 a.m. on November 14, 1992.

A search of the basement revealed a kitchen knife, a chisel, and a claw hammer, each containing traces of human tissue and blood. Stuffed inside a pipe, police found a pencil case containing a human eyeball and penis.

During questioning, O’Donnell and Gribble each gave separate statements accepting personal responsibility for the murder while attempting to exculpate the other.

Arrest

Police arrested O’Donnell and Gribble at approximately 1:30 a.m. on the morning of November 14, 1992 after McClinchey called police and after interviewing her at a nearby gas station.

Trial

O’Donnell and Gribble were each charged with murder, robbery, arson, and a variety of related offenses connected with the killing of Eleftheriou. They were tried jointly. Both waived their right to a jury trial and agreed to be tried before the trial judge.

At the bench trial:

• An assistant medical examiner testified there were numerous abrasions on Eleftheriou’s head consistent with blows from a hammer.
• The medical examiner testified that one person could not have killed and dismembered the victim in a manner consistent with the physical evidence.
• The examiner testified that red abrasions in areas where the victim’s head and right arm had been severed indicated the heart was still beating when those body parts were removed.
• The examiner testified that yellow abrasions in areas where the remaining body parts had been severed indicated the heart had stopped beating by the time those parts were severed.
• The medical examiner testified that one person working alone would not have been able to remove both the head and the right arm in an estimated fifteen minutes before the victim bled to death.

After the evidence, the trial judge convicted O’Donnell on all counts, including first-degree murder under 18 Pa.C.S. § 2502(a).

Charges and convictions (as listed in footnote)

O’Donnell was also convicted of:

• criminal conspiracy, 18 Pa.C.S. § 903
• possessing an instrument of crime, 18 Pa.C.S. § 907(a)
• robbery, 18 Pa.C.S. § 3701
• theft by unlawful taking, 18 Pa.C.S. § 3921
• unauthorized use of an automobile, 18 Pa.C.S. § 3928
• arson, 18 Pa.C.S. § 3301
• risking a catastrophe, 18 Pa.C.S. § 3302(b)
• forgery, 18 Pa.C.S. § 4101
• abuse of a corpse, 18 Pa.C.S. § 5510
• credit card fraud, 18 Pa.C.S. § 4106

Sentencing

After a bench penalty-phase hearing on July 1, 1993, the trial court found one aggravating factor and three mitigating circumstances and sentenced O’Donnell to death.

• The aggravating factor was that O’Donnell committed the killing while in the perpetration of a felony, 42 Pa.C.S. § 9711(d)(6).
• The mitigating circumstances were:
  • no significant history of prior criminal convictions, 42 Pa.C.S. § 9711(e)(1)
  • being the mother of six children, 42 Pa.C.S. § 9711(e)(8)
  • being a drug user, 42 Pa.C.S. § 9711(e)(8)

The trial court formally imposed the sentence of death on August 11, 1994.

Appeals

O’Donnell appealed to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

• The opinion stated that after a four day bench trial, O’Donnell and William Gribble were found guilty of first degree murder for the death of Eleftherios Eleftheriou.
• The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania affirmed O’Donnell’s convictions but reversed the judgment of sentence and remanded for a new penalty phase hearing.

The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania addressed multiple claims:

• The court affirmed sufficiency of the evidence for first-degree murder under Pennsylvania law.
• The court addressed ineffective assistance claims and determined trial counsel’s decisions had reasonable basis, including withdrawal of suppression claims and strategic use/acknowledgment of drug addiction.
• The court addressed waiver colloquy for guilt phase and rejected the contention that the colloquy was inadequate.
• The court addressed O’Donnell’s claim that the trial court refused to consider Gribble’s admission as to who committed the murder and found it failed or was harmless, citing O’Donnell’s own confession and other evidence.
• The court addressed competency issues during trial tied to medication intake and rejected the claims.
• The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania agreed that O’Donnell’s waiver of a penalty-phase jury was invalid, because the colloquy was inadequate to show knowing, voluntary and intelligent waiver.

In the penalty-phase waiver discussion:

• The court stated: “Let me say this: the defendants do not have to answer. I want to make it clear that they are entitled to a jury trial in the death penalty phase. We can go through the jury selection process, and they can present any testimony that you want to present in mitigation of the application of the death penalty, and then the jury would be asked to consider everything in connection with the case that you want to bring out. The entire record would be open to the jury and the jury can make the final decision, that's their right at this point. If they want to waive a jury, of course, that has to be agreed to by the Commonwealth. It does not matter to me one way or the other. If they wish a jury trial, they are entitled to have it. The jury would be entitled to be made aware of everything in the record that you want to bring out to the jury. The record would be in front of them and anything you want to bring out in mitigation of the death penalty.”
• The opinion found this colloquy insufficient and vacated the sentence, remanding for a new penalty phase hearing.
• The opinion stated: “Accordingly, we affirm Appellant's convictions but vacate the judgment of sentence and remand for a new penalty phase hearing.”

A dissenting opinion by Justice CASTILLE argued against a per se reversal rule, referencing prior Pennsylvania cases and suggesting an evidentiary hearing to determine whether O’Donnell’s waiver was knowing, voluntary and intelligent.

Outcome

• The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania affirmed O’Donnell’s convictions.
• The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania reversed the judgment of sentence imposed by the trial court and remanded for a new penalty phase hearing.
• The case status then reflected that O’Donnell was resentenced to life in prison in 2003.

Aftermath

At William Gribble’s penalty hearing, he broke down several times while recalling the slaying from the witness stand. He said:

• “I was higher than you can imagine.”
• “I did not mean to do that. I was not like that. I remember hitting him with the hammer, but I don't know how many times. Maybe five.” He also said he didn’t recall cutting up the body and said:
• “I remember walking in the door. I remember seeing him on the couch. We had a fight.”

Gribble said he had used drugs since he was 14. He said he and O’Donnell had a crack-addicted baby daughter about 18 months earlier and that the child was in foster care. He said they never took custody of the child at the hospital because of their addiction.

Gribble’s defense lawyer Charles P. Mirarchi Jr. asked the judge to show leniency, pointing out Gribble had no prior criminal record and that drugs meant the killing would not have occurred.

Assistant DA Thomas Perricone responded that Gribble was trying to hide behind drug use to excuse his conduct and that Gribble knew exactly what he was doing when he killed Eleftheriou.

At sentencing-related discussions, Steven Sigal stated that O’Donnell was dying of a brain tumor and had taken the blame for the killing because she wanted to save the life of her lover.