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November 20, 2009

NEW – Judge: No change of venue for Simmons retrial

By Sandra K. Reabuck The Tribune-Democrat Fri Nov 20, 2009, 02:46 PM EST

EBENSBURG — Judge Timothy Creany ruled today against a defense motion seeking a change of venue for the retrial of convicted murderer Ernest Simmons in the 1992 beating and strangulation death of an 80-year-old Johnstown woman.

Instead, the judge said an attempt will be made to choose an impartial jury from among Cambria County residents, beginning on Jan. 25.

Simmons, 52, was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death in a 1992 trial in the slaying of Anna Knaze of the city’s Woodvale section. Her battered body was found by one of her sons on May 6, 1992.

Federal courts ordered a new trial for Simmons, ruling that prosecutors and police had failed to disclose critical evidence to the defense.

Although the trial is set for January, there could be a further delay. Prosecutors plan to ask the U. S. Supreme Court to review the lower federal courts’ decisions.

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