Monday, March 17, 1997

Trial date set for suspect in stabbing death of Fergus

The trial of Walter Chruby, the suspect in the stabbing death of State College resident Ruth Fergus, is set to begin on June 11 and run through the end of the month, Centre County District Attorney Ray Gricar said.

Collegian story: Year-old Fergus murder still haunts townspeople

Chruby, 33, was charged with first-degree murder in connection with the September 1995 death of Fergus.

Fergus, 73, was a member of the State College Borough Planning Commission.

The trial was scheduled to begin Feb. 12, but was delayed at the request of Gary Lysaght, Chruby's attorney. The defense needed time to have DNA evidence found at the scene analyzed at their own lab, Gricar said.

Collegian story: Lawyer requests second DNA test in Fergus case

Genetic evidence has already delayed the trial. A November trial date was pushed back because the FBI laboratory in Washington, D.C., had not completed its work on the material.

-- by Jim Kinney