HOLLIDAYSBURG -- The prosecution will seek life in prison, not the death penalty, against the man charged in connection with the March death of a Penn State Altoona student, a judge said Thursday.
The county is seeking life in prison instead of the death penalty for Sean L. Allen, 20, because there was not sufficient evidence to sustain such a penalty in accordance with Pennsylvania law, said Blair County Deputy District Attorney Wade Kagarise. Allen's attorney Steven Passarello did not return phone calls seeking comment.
Behind closed doors, both sides
met Thursday with Judge Tim Sullivan inside the Blair County Courthouse and ultimately set a trial date.
Allen will be tried Nov. 16 through Nov. 20, with jury selection scheduled for Nov. 2, Sullivan said after the meeting.
Allen is charged with homicide in connection with the death of Margo "Maggie" Davis, a 20-year-old elementary education major, according to court documents.
Police found Davis dead in the trunk of her car March 4 after she met with Allen to purchase a small amount of marijuana, according to court documents.
Kagarise said the marijuana aspect of the case should not be emphasized.
"This is a murder case," he said. "We don't think it would be appropriate to highlight that as an issue in the case because we don't think it's an issue."
Items were taken from two trash bags at the foot of Allen's bed inside his 102A Fairway Lower Brush residence the same night Davis' body was found, according to court documents.
The evidence, which consists of bloody towels, two used condoms and a phone with Davis' name on it, is undergoing DNA testing to determine whether a link exists between Davis and Allen, according to court documents.
In the last couple of weeks, the results have begun to come back from the laboratories, Kagarise said.
But Kagarise did not comment on the outcome of the results and said he wouldn't until all of the results were returned.
