Suspect In East Liberty Sisters' Murder Will Not Have Separate Lawyers For Trial, Penalty Phases

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The man accused in the murder of two sisters in their East Liberty home last year was back in front of a judge Friday morning.

Allen Wade was in court for a pretrial hearing.

He's accused in the deaths of Sarah and Susan Wolfe, his next door neighbors. The sisters were found dead of gunshot wounds to the head in their Chislett Street home in February of 2014.

When Wade goes to trial, he faces the prospect of the death penalty. But his lawyer now says she does not plan to try his case in the traditional way should it get to the death penalty phase.

There will not be separate lawyers for the guilt phase and the penalty phase.

Wade repeatedly denied his involvement in the Wolfe sisters' deaths.

However, investigators say it was DNA from Wade that was found underneath Susan Wolfe's fingernails, along with surveillance video that sealed the case for Pittsburgh Police.

But his lawyer says she's going to try the case following the current trend of merging the defense team to handle both phases of the case.

"The juries find it easier to understand the defense and to participate in the defense if it's an integrated defense with both attorneys working towards a common goal as opposed to, 'Well, now you've rejected what one attorney says, let's give you a new attorney,'" said defense attorney Lisa Middleman. "So both attorneys are working toward the same goal, and that's better for the defendant."

Additional pretrial hearings are scheduled in the next few weeks, but at this point, the murder trial is scheduled to start in November.

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