Pa. trooper’s murder conviction upheld on appeal

Pa. trooper’s murder conviction upheld on appeal

INDIANA, Pa. (AP) — A state appeals court has rejected the appeal of a former state trooper serving life in prison for the slashing death of his live-in girlfriend’s estranged husband in western Pennsylvania.

Attorneys for 46-year-old Kevin Foley, of White Township, contend evidence about bloody footprints found near the body of Blairsville dentist John Yelenic’s were used to inflame the jury, but prosecutors say they matched athletic shoes Foley was known to wear and a Superior Court panel agreed.

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review also reports the court noted DNA evidence found under Yelenic’s fingernails matched Foley, a state trooper at the time.

Foley killed Yelenic April 13, 2006, a day before he was to sign papers in a divorce so acrimonious that Yelenic’s attorney tried unsuccessfully to get the divorce decree issued after his death.