Jury Convicts Man Of Stabbing Father-In-Law To Death
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Michael Martin, 41, of Charleroi was convicted by a Westmoreland County Jury of first degree murder tonight.
Martin was arrested back in 2013 in the stabbing death of his father-in-law, 67-year-old Earl Weygandt.
The victim's body was found in his SUV, which was parked in a restaurant parking lot, in Donegal.
Police and prosecutors said the murder was all about money. They said Martin had lured his father-in-law to the Donegal location, because Weygandt stopped giving him and his stepdaughter money.
Martin told investigators he stabbed Weygandt nine times in self-defense, but the jury didn't buy his story.
The jury this afternoon spent about two hours deliberated Martin's fate.
The victim's daughter, Shelly Pelzer, said after the verdict: "I was relieved they [the jury] saw through his lies. It's a good verdict, my dad – an Army veteran – can now rest in peace."
Pelzer added, "now, I can move on a little bit, I've been holding onto this for a long time. I'll never forget my dad, my baby was born on his birthday."
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