Milano’s killer appeals to state Supreme Court
Richard R. Laird, who murdered gay artist Anthony Milano in 1987, has appealed to the state Supreme Court for a new trial.
Laird claims jurors in 2007 didn’t receive enough information about his father’s alleged abusiveness and about head injuries he sustained as a youth.
On Aug. 8, Bucks County Common Pleas Judge Rea B. Boylan rejected Laird’s claims and denied his request for a new trial.
But on Sept. 3, Laird appealed her ruling to the state Supreme Court.
Laird and Frank R. Chester slashed Milano to death in December 1987 after escorting him out of a Tullytown tavern.
Both men were convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death.
Laird was granted a retrial in 2007, and another Bucks County jury convicted him of first-degree murder and sentenced him to death.
This week, Stephen B. Harris, chief of appeals for the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office, said Laird received a proper retrial in 2007.
“As far we’re concerned, both Richard Laird and Frank Chester were properly given the death penalty, and it should be carried out,” Harris told PGN. “There are no active plea negotiations for either man.”
Billy H. Nolas, an attorney for Laird, had no comment.
Laird, 50, remains on death row at the state prison in Greene County.
Chester, 44, remains on death row at the state prison in Graterford. His appeal for a new trial remains pending in federal court.
Couple marries after 41 years together
Gordon Pessano and David Donaldson were married Sept. 9, 2013, in Manhattan at the office of the New York Ciy Clerk.
The marriage took place 41 years and one day after they met in Pittsburgh in 1972.
Pessano, 63, is a retired law-office administrator. Donaldson, 65, is a retired attorney who teaches legal skills part-time.
The couple resides in Center City.
— Tim Cwiek