Father and son seek preliminary hearing in homicide case
A father and son charged with killing a man who was their brother and uncle appeared in court Monday to ask that they be granted a preliminary hearing on the evidence against them.
A father and son charged with killing a man who was their brother and uncle appeared in court Monday to ask that they be granted a preliminary hearing on the evidence against them.
Prosecutors want to proceed directly to trial against Edward R. Kirby, 59, and Edward A. Kirby, 34, charged with killing their relative in a scheme to fraudulently collect life-insurance money.
Judge Diana Anhalt said she would rule in two weeks. Neither man spoke in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court.
Edward R. Kirby, unshaven and looking tired in a brown-and-blue plaid shirt, sat next to his lawyer, Jason Kadish. Edward A. Kirby, who wore a black shirt, was represented by David Nenner.
Father and son, both of Modena Park in Northeast Philadelphia, have been jailed since their arrests in March. They are accused of homicide and related offenses in the 2014 death of George Kirby.
The two allegedly delivered methadone pills to Kirby, who was ill and housebound at his Frankford home. He was 64 when he died of methadone intoxication.
The legal argument Monday centered on whether the prosecution can bypass a preliminary hearing, held to determine whether there is probable cause to believe the defendants committed the crime.
Assistant District Attorney Yvonne Ruiz said the law does not require a hearing when someone is charged through a grand jury. Going directly to trial would save time and money, and would allow the defendants to see the evidence against them much sooner, she said.
Kadish and Nenner argued that their clients were charged based on evidence presented solely by the prosecution. Nenner said his client had no chance to cross-examine witnesses.
Authorities said the victim's son, Nicholas, told police he overheard the two men plotting in a conversation.
"Go down there and kill him. Make it look like an accident. Just put a pillow over him and smother him," the younger Kirby said, according to Nicholas Kirby.
"It's not that easy," the father replied.
"The quicker you do this, the quicker we can get the money," Edward A. Kirby said, in Nicholas Kirby's account.
The two had taken out 10 life-insurance policies on George Kirby, most of them worth from $15,000 to $30,000, authorities said.
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