Former councilman charged with Monaca killing posts bond
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The former Bridgewater councilman charged with the 1979 killing of a Monaca woman was released on bail today.
Gregory Scott Hopkins, 66, of Beaver, had been in jail since January, when he was charged with killing Catherine Janet Walsh, a 23-year-old divorcee who was found strangled in the bedroom of her first-floor duplex.
More than three decades later, DNA evidence found in seminal fluid discovered at the scene was matched to a sample from Mr. Hopkins, who has pleaded not guilty.
Mr. Hopkins' attorney has argued that his DNA should have been at the scene since he and Walsh were having an affair that ended before her death.
Forensic pathologist Cyril H. Wecht wrote in a report that the location of the DNA placed Mr. Hopkins on the bed on top of Walsh at or around the time of her death. Common Pleas Judge Harry E. Knafelc, in an opinion issued Nov. 5, ruled that Dr. Wecht's account was inadmissible because it lacked scientific evidence.
Dispute over that report has delayed the trial. Judge Knafelc issued an order on Monday setting the bond for Mr. Hopkins at $100,000, or $200,000 in property. Online court records showed that a bondsman posted $100,00 bail for him today.
The conditions of the bond also require Mr. Hopkins to comply with electronic home monitoring, to surrender his passport, to remain at his residence and to meet regularly with a probation officer.
First Published December 4, 2012 6:22 pm
