A federal judge has stayed the execution of a Fayette County man pending the completion of habeas corpus proceedings in her court.

Mark D. Edwards, 24, was facing an execution date of Sept. 19. A death warrant for him was signed by Gov. Ed Rendell last week.

Mr. Edwards was convicted in 2004 of killing a couple and their pregnant 17-year-old daughter on April 14, 2002.

Larry A. Bobish Sr., 50, Joanna Marian Bobish, 42, and Krystal Leigh Bobish, were all shot to death. Mr. Edwards was found guilty of three counts of first-degree murder, as well as one count of second-degree murder for the death of the child Krystal Bobish had been carrying for 28 weeks.

He was also found gulty of setting the family's North Union home on fire, and of attempted murder of the Bobish's 12-year-old son, Larry Bobish Jr. He was shot in the hand and head, and also received a stab wound to the neck.

He was a key witness against Mr. Edwards at the trial. The motive offered for Mr. Edwards' actions was that he was trying to avoid a drug debt.

The defense argued at Mr. Edwards' trial that he was on drugs at the time and borderline mentally retarded. However, that did not sway the jury. The state Supreme Court affirmed the conviction, and earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to take the case.

Mr. Edwards' habeas proceedings in federal court began in May. Paperwork in support of his case is due Nov. 16.

First Published: July 31, 2007, 3:30 p.m.