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Suspect Retracts Confession For Slashing Attack On South Side

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – After his arrest a year ago, Anthony Scholl had nothing to say on his way to jail.

But now though, his attorney claims he was coerced into confessing to the slashing attack on cyclist Colin Albright.

"Our position is that the statement that was extracted by police came from coerced police conduct," said defense attorney Ryan Tutera.

Police say it is Scholl who is seen in video climbing city steps to assault Albright last year – slashing his throat and gauging his head at the conclusion of a road rage incident.

Police say they followed a trail of evidence leading to Scholl who confessed to the crime to the relief of Albright himself.

"This person is not a threat to anyone else at this point – off the street," Albright said.

But Tutera argues that police got a confession from Scholl despite being told by Scholl's former attorney Greg Joyce that Scholl was not to be interviewed.

He also says that Albright could not make a positive ID on Scholl when viewing a photo array of mugshots – saying only that the attacker looked similar to Scholl.

"The identification of my client may have been overly suggestive by police," Tutera said.

Now police and the district attorney's office will not comment, but privately they are confident this evidence will pass legal muster and will lead to a conviction in the case.

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