THE HALFAX HEIMDALL AUGUR

Missing Witness in Murder Case Taken Into Custody A woman whose disappearance caused a delay in the trial tied to a New Kensington murder is now in custody at the Westmoreland County Prison. Authorities say 55-year-old Amelia Lewis was found at a home in Tarentum on Tuesday. Officials issued a material witness warrant for Lewis because they believe she will share testimony linking 47-year-old Larry Osborn Nix Junior to the December, 2022 shooting death of James Michael Hayes. The trial for Nix was supposed to begin this month, but it was delayed until July after law enforcement was unable to find Lewis. Lewis is scheduled to appear before a judge today to determine whether she will have to remain in custody until she is called to testify.

Witness in New Kensington homicide case will remain in jail - TribLIVE.com A Brackenridge woman who is a key prosecution witness in a New Kensington homicide will stay in jail until she’s called to testify at trial next month, a judge ruled Thursday. Amelia Lewis, 55, pleaded her case to Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio Thursday and asked to be released from the Westmoreland County Prison on electronic monitoring until trial starts July 13. “I give you my word as a woman, I will show up July 13,” Lewis said during a bail hearing. “I don’t want to be in jail, jail’s not a place where I like to be. … I’m not the one on trial.” Bilik-DeFazio refused to let her out on electronic monitoring or set bail, pointing to past statements Lewis reportedly made to police that she planned to leave town to avoid testifying. With Lewis’ appearance secured by way of her incarceration, trial is set to start next month for Larry Osborn Nix Jr., 47, of West Brownsville, in connection with the Dec. 9, 2022shooting deathof James Michael Hayes, 31. His body was found in the parking lot behind Kensington Arms Apartments, where he lived. Nix has maintained his innocence since his arrest last year. The tria…

Missing witness in New Kensington murder case taken into custody ... Sheriff deputies and Tarentum police on Tuesday captureda woman whose disappearancecaused a month-long trial delay for a man charged in connection with a 2022 murder in New Kensington. Amelia Lewis, 55, of Brackenridge, Allegheny County,remains lodged in Westmoreland County Prison. She is scheduled to appear before a judge Thursday morning to determine whether she remains in custody until she is called to testify in the July murder trial of Larry Osborn Nix Jr. Nix, 47, of West Brownsville, Washington County, was set to go to trial in June for the Dec. 9, 2022,shooting death of 31-year-old James MichaelHayes. Police said Hayes sustained a fatal head wound. His body was found in the parking lot behind Kensington Arms Apartments, where he lived. Westmoreland County prosecutors contend a man who matched Nix’s description fired on Hayes after he stopped his vehicle to retrieve a jacket from its trunk. Police said 41 rounds were fired from three guns, all from a distance from where Hayes’ body was found. Nix has maintained his innocence since his arrest last year. The trial for Nix, who was the first person char…

Missing witness in New Kensington murder case taken into custody ... (Metro Creative) Sheriff deputies and Tarentum police on Tuesday captured a woman whose disappearance caused month-long trial delay for a New Kensington man charged in connection to a 2022 murder. Amelia Lewis, 55, of Brackenridge, Allegheny County, remains lodged in Westmoreland County Prison. She is scheduled to appear before a judge Thursday morning to determine whether she remains in custody until she is called to testify in the July murder trial of Larry Osborn Nix Jr. Nix, 47, of West Brownsville, Washington County, was set to go to trial in June for the Dec. 9, 2022 shooting death of 31-year-old James Michael Hayes. Police said Nix sustained a fatal head wound. His body was found in the parking lot behind Kensington Arms Apartments in the 400 block of 11th Street. Westmoreland County prosecutors contend a man who matched Nix’s description fired on Hayes after he stopped his vehicle to retrieve a jacket from its trunk. Police said 41 rounds were fired from three guns, all from a distance from where Hayes’ body was found. Nix has maintained his innocence since his arrest last year. The trial for Nix, …

Key Witness Vanishes, New Kensington Murder Trial Stalled Yet Again Source: Google Street View A long-delayed New Kensington murder case has been pushed back yet again, after prosecutors told a Westmoreland County judge they cannot find a key witness whose testimony they say is crucial to proving motive. Jury selection, which was supposed to start this week in Westmoreland County Court, is now on hold until July while sheriff’s deputies try to track the woman down, extending a process that has left the victim’s family and the defense waiting nearly three years for closure. Key witness missing, trial hits pause Assistant District Attorney Katie Ranker Ellwood told the court that sheriff’s deputies have been unable to locate the witness and that a material-witness warrant was issued last week, according to WTAE . With that disclosure, the judge stopped jury selection before it even began and reset the trial for July, giving authorities more time to find the woman prosecutors say is central to their theory of why the shooting happened. Kensington Arms killing and long road to court Investigators found 31-year-old James Michael Hayes on Dec. 9, 2022, in the parking lot behind the Kens…

Missing witness in New Kensington murder case taken into custody, detained prior to trial <p>Sheriff deputies and Tarentum police on Tuesday captured <a href="https://triblive.com/local/valley-news-dispatch/witness-disappearance-forces-delay-in-new-kensington-murder-trial/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a woman whose disappearance</a> caused a month-long trial delay for a man charged in connection with a 2022 murder in New Kensington.</p>