SHANNON KOS MURDER Judge to decide if man gets a new trial

The defense attorney contends there were problems with the jury instructions.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- A judge is expected to decide by Monday if a former Struthers man convicted of murder will get a new trial.
Perry S. Ricciardi, 23, was convicted in February in the stabbing death of 12-year-old Shannon Leigh Kos of Youngstown. Her body was discovered in October 2000 in a culvert in Mahoning Township, Lawrence County.
Two other former Struthers residents who pleaded guilty in the slaying are in prison. David Garvey, 22, is serving 20 to 40 years in prison and William Monday is serving a life sentence.
Ricciardi was sentenced to life in prison after a four-week trial.
Appeal filed
Ricciardi's attorney, Dennis A. Elisco, filed an immediate appeal after the jury verdict and sentencing by Judge J. Craig Cox. Elisco said if his attempt at a new trial is unsuccessful in common pleas court, he will appeal to the Pennsylvania Superior Court.
Elisco and prosecutors argued their positions Wednesday in common pleas court.
Ricciardi's attorney contends his client did not receive a fair trial because he was not allowed to cross-examine Pennsylvania State Police Cpl. John Ryhal about a memo Ryhal sent to state troopers before the trial.
The memo, dated Jan. 7, instructs state troopers not to discuss the case with an investigator working for Elisco.
The attorney contends the memo goes toward Ryhal's credibility in the case.
The district attorney's office disagreed.
Assistant District Attorney Thomas Minett said Ryhal's memo had no bearing on the case.
"There was no reason to change the focus of this case from the actions of these three men to the action of Ryhal," he said.
Jury instruction problems?
Elisco contends there also were problems with the jury instructions. He said jurors were told they could find Ricciardi guilty of being a conspirator or an accomplice and they didn't have to be unanimous in their decision. He believes they should have come to a unanimous decision on one or the other.
Elisco also has challenged a previous ruling by another common pleas court judge that allowed Ricciardi's police statements to be used at trial and if there was enough evidence presented at trial to support kidnapping and conspiracy to commit statutory rape charges.
cioffi@vindy.com