Defense Aims To Show Police Rushed Investigation In Sisters' Murders
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - The trial of a man accused of killing two sisters in East Liberty continued Tuesday as the defense continued to present their case.
Allen Wade is accused of killing Susan and Sarah Wolfe in their home in February of 2014.
The defense is trying to prove that police rushed their investigation, and felt pressure from the media. They called several people to the stand.
Defense attorneys presented testimony from a long list of witnesses in an attempt to refute prosecution claims that Wade murdered the sisters.
The first witness, a lab manager from the Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office, told the jury she was asked to work the case quickly because solving the murders was a top priority.
A police commander who also took the stand was asked if officers were pressured by the media to make a quick arrest. Also, a police detective was asked about following up a tip about "a terminator-looking dude" outside the Wolfe's house a few days before the murders.
The defense even questioned a gas company employee who responded to a gas leak at the bar where Sarah Wolfe's boyfriend worked. No leak was found and the boyfriend's whereabouts came into question.
A former co-worker of Susan Wolfe's took the stand and told the court what she said about her sister's boyfriend.
She said: "He's no my cup of tea. I don't like him and he gives me the creeps."
The prosecution countered that none of the sisters' DNA was found on the boyfriend; however, DNA was connected to Wade.
On Monday, Wade's ex-girlfriend, LaShawn Rue, took the stand.
Rue told jury members she was living with Allen Wade in an apartment next door to the Wolfe sisters on Chislett Street.
On the night the sisters were murdered, she claims Wade was at home with her, enjoying a normal evening.
Police say the Wolfe sisters were killed sometime between 7 and 10 p.m. Rue said she spoke to Wade around 7:30 p.m. on the phone and when she came home from work around 8 p.m. he had dinner ready.
They allegedly fed his two children and then ate between 8:15 and 8:30 p.m. She said they then sat on the couch and watched TV and then went to bed around 11 p.m.
The defense rested it's case late Tuesday afternoon. Closing arguments will begin on Wednesday morning.
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