NEW CASTLE Unsolved slaying will get coverage

The 1999 killing of Yvonne Richards became the basis for a college student's senior project.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Investigators are hoping work by Westminster College students will help find a killer.
"Lawrence County Unsolved," a program put together by some of the college's broadcast communication students, will start airing this week on Adelphia Cable in an effort to help police find the person who killed Yvonne Richards on Dec. 3, 1999.
"We are hoping that somebody will watch the program, and it might jog their memory, or they might remember something they didn't think was important," said Matthew Mangino, the Lawrence County district attorney.
Richards, who was strangled, was found partially clad on the property of Union Baptist Church on West Grant Street in New Castle. She was last seen alive at 12:30 a.m. Dec. 3 leaving her boyfriend's apartment in downtown New Castle.
Her boyfriend told investigators she was walking to her Halco Drive home. Her body was discovered by a passer-by about three blocks from her apartment later that morning.
"She was walking in an area that was well lit, that a lot of people travel," Mangino said. "Maybe somebody who sees this program will remember something they didn't think was significant at the time."
Television program
A television piece about Richards' death was Mangino's idea. He initially approached Westminster last spring about featuring it on its weekly news program, "The County Line," which also is produced by students.
Student reporters started working on the project last year but ran out of time, said Bobby Fisher, a Westminster senior broadcast communication major who also is producer of "The County Line."
When Fisher returned to school this fall, he decided to take another look at the Richards case and ended up creating a stand-alone, 30-minute program called "Lawrence County Unsolved" as his senior project.
Fisher, along with Melissa Batulis, Megan Monaco and Matt Deegan, worked on the original segments that never aired. He was able to take their previous work, which included a re-enactment of Richards' walk home, interviews with police and details of the crime, and fashion it into a new show similar to "Unsolved Mysteries," he said.
An updated interview with the district attorney and some extra segments with Fisher acting as host completed the program this semester, he said.
"It was a different experience. I thought it was exciting. It felt like I was taping an episode of 'America's Most Wanted,'" Fisher said.
Investigation
Few new leads have come to investigators since the initial investigation, said Lt. Tom Sansone, a New Castle detective. Sansone, who was one of the first officers on the scene when Richards' body was discovered, said some people interviewed about the murder have died.
He's urging anyone with information to come forward and hopes the television program will help find Richards' killer.
"People may think the police don't care anymore because it's been a couple of years. That's not true. We want to know every detail, even if they think it's not significant," Sansone said.
Authorities believe the program will help all involved.
"It turned into something that will not only serve as a good barometer of the students' ability in broadcasting, but it's also a valuable tool for the community," Mangino added.
cioffi@vindy.com