A Friendship man was convicted of first-degree murder this morning for a 2005 stabbing.

Michael McCary, 36, was found guilty by Common Pleas Judge David R. Cashman after a non-jury trial in which two witnesses testified that they saw the incident, though only one could identify Mr. McCary.

Kenneth Waller, 50, of Homewood, spent seven months in a coma and died in December 2005. He never awoke after Mr. McCary slashed his carotid artery during an argument at the corner of Penn Avenue and South Graham Street in Friendship.

Mr. McCary was arrested in February. The delay was attributed to the reluctance of witnesses David Wadley, Mr. Waller's friend who said he tried to break up the fight, and Ernest Wooley, a jitney driver who happened to be nearby.

Both men testified that they were scared of retribution, which is why they were unhelpful to police at first. Mr. Wadley identified Mr. McCary from the witness stand, but Mr. Wooley testified that he wasn't sure the defendant was the stabber, because it was dark out. He previously had picked Mr. McCary out of a photo array for detectives.

First Published: January 21, 2009, 4:30 p.m.