Prosecutor: Teen Was Prime 'Instigator' in Death of Disabled Woman
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In this undated file photo provided by the Westmoreland County Prision, Angela Marinucci, is shown. Marinucci and five others were charged Friday, Feb. 12, 2010 with criminal homicide, kidnapping and related charges in the death of 30-year-old Jennifer Daugherty, whose body was found at Greensburg Salem Middle School, about 30 miles east of Pittsburgh. (AP) (AP2010)
A Pennsylvania prosecutor says a 17-year-old girl was "the prime instigator" in the torture and slaying of a mentally disabled woman last year.
Westmoreland County District Attorney John Peck says the teen, Angela Marinucci, and five adults were casual friends of the victim, 30-year-old Jennifer Daugherty.
Daugherty's body was found in February 2010 in a school parking lot in Greensburg, Pa. She had been bound and stabbed.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Peck says Marinucci was jealous of Daugherty and instigated a brutal attack. He is seeking a first-degree murder conviction for the now-18-year-old defendant.
Defense attorney Michael DeMatt told the jury during his opening statement Monday that it's unlikely a high school student like Marinucci could have persuaded a group of adults to commit the "ultimate act" of murder.