GUILTY PA - Jessica Padgett, 32, Northampton County, 21 November 2014

[steelman]

I can't believe he's putting his "family" through this ordeal. I say family in quotes because I highly doubt that anybody related to this guy wants anything to do with him. He wasn't the "bio" anything to most of them, if any of them. He just married their mother.

There's no chance in hell he's ever going to walk out of prison alive. The lawyers representing him should be ashamed of themselves for taking money away from his surviving family members in this sham trial............ but they aren't.

No, he's a sick puppy and he wants this dirty laundry aired. He wants it aired and displayed in front of the very people that he has already scarred for life with his insanity. I predict the inmates at his new home will take care of this problem themselves sometime within the next 5 years or so.

Nobody wants to share a cell......or a cellblock.....with somebody like Graf.

 

[jacct]

It was a Saturday, and the businessman was at a hardware store in Northampton, shopping for a mop and cleaning supplies.

The $35.46 in purchases last year, which included bottles of carpet and floor cleaner, were seemingly unremarkable. Except that the shopper was Gregory R. Graf, who the day before had killed his stepdaughter in his Allen Township home.

"Are these the kind of supplies he would normally purchase?" Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli asked a witness on the second day of Graf's murder trial.

"I would say no," replied Michael Stasko, manager of Miller Supply-Ace Hardware on Route 329.

http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/...dgett-murder-trial-day-ii-20151111-story.html

 

[Madeleine74]

'Prisoner justice' is mostly a pipe dream. Only a few notorious killers get killed in prison (Jeffrey Dahmer, is one oft-used example). This guy isn't notorious. Counting on other prisoners to exact revenge is more fantasy than reality. The victim was an adult, so even less incentive. He's a nothing/nobody. Other killers won't care about this guy or his crime.

If there is such a thing as a "slam dunk" case this one is it. Perp on video abusing the corpse he killed moments earlier. He'll never be out of prison regardless. This 'trial' really should take a couple days at most. It might take longer, but IMO it shouldn't.

 

[jacct]

Family members of murdered Jessica Padgett fled a Northampton County courtroom, kept their eyes downcast and fought tears, and held hands and passed tissues Thursday as disturbing crime scene evidence was displayed to a jury.
Padgett's father, Thomas Kaczmar, and her mother, Danelle Bittner, each sat with their eyes averted as a state police investigator displayed sex toy packaging that was seized by authorities last year after Gregory R. Graf confessed to killing Padgett, his stepdaughter, and sexually abusing her corpse.

http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/...adgett-murder-trial-video-20151112-story.html

 

[jacct]

'Prisoner justice' is mostly a pipe dream. Only a few notorious killers get killed in prison (Jeffrey Dahmer, is one oft-used example). This guy isn't notorious. Counting on other prisoners to exact revenge is more fantasy than reality. The victim was an adult, so even less incentive. He's a nothing/nobody. Other killers won't care about this guy or his crime.

If there is such a thing as a "slam dunk" case this one is it. Perp on video abusing the corpse he killed moments earlier. He'll never be out of prison regardless. This 'trial' really should take a couple days at most. It might take longer, but IMO it shouldn't.

It should be a slam dunk. Defense is saying that it wasn't premeditated but evidence shows planning in the days before the murder, and on the day of the murder. The items purchased in advance and moving his vehicle close to where he dropped off her car so he could drive himself home.

I'm curious what evidence the defense will submit that he "snapped" and how they will try to explain the after death sex videos.

 

[kaen]

The only thing that Graf gains out of this is that his funds are depleted and not available to his wife and family. There is so much evidence I can not believe that his lawyer has not counseled him to seek a deal.

 

[SurfieTX]

The only thing that Graf gains out of this is that his funds are depleted and not available to his wife and family. There is so much evidence I can not believe that his lawyer has not counseled him to seek a deal.

The lawyer probably did. I think Graf is enjoying this. He's reliving it all over again, which is something he wanted originally as evidenced by him videotaping himself and Jessica.

 

[kaen]

The lawyer probably did. I think Graf is enjoying this. He's reliving it all over again, which is something he wanted originally as evidenced by him videotaping himself and Jessica.

I think this is true as well. Somehow, at some point early on in this case, I remember some news (or poster here) about him trying to shield his monies from his wife.

Added: He spent 60k after he and his wife agreed in preparation for their divorce that he would do no spending of marital assets in Dec. 14. She had to get a court order to restrict him from spending. This is why I think it is a ploy to hurt and financially cripple Jessica's mother and family. He is such a scummy person. Link to the story below.

http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/nor...sf/2015/01/allen_township_man_accused_of.html

 

[jacct]

Sitting inside a state police barracks, Cpl. Jeffrey Szczecina said he had just repeated to Graf the same thing he'd been asking since 33-year-old Jessica Padgett disappeared the week before.

He needed to know, Szczecina recounted telling Graf, what happened to Padgett.
"He said, 'I shot her. I shot her in the back of the head and she's still on the property,'" Szczecina testified Thursday at Graf's murder trial.

http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/...adgett-murder-trial-video-20151112-story.html

 

[heartgoesout]

The trial is for him to plead not guilty to the first degree murder charge and avoid the life sentence. If he is found guilty of third degree murder or even voluntary manslaughter a 20 year sentence can end up only being 12 years. So for him it is a big difference.
The question posed to the jury is not whether he is guilty, but to what degree of guilt, according to the written law.
Can premeditated murder be proven without a reasonable doubt? He's got a good lawyer this is not a slam dunk although it should be. The law is complex and good lawyers have won harder cases. Look up McMahon's other cases.

Just playing devils advocate...His lawyer can say so what he bought sex toys, it's a billion dollar industry, a lot of people buy sex toys, ...doesn't mean he premeditated her murder. He called her repeatedly to help with a computer program, he was frustrated and anxious trying to get the computer to work and he only snapped when she arrived, no premeditation. His wife traveled to Florida several times alone, if he planned this why didn't he do this sooner, no premeditation. He dropped his car off at an auto shop out of convenience and he was hoping to call later to have it looked at, not premeditated murder. etc... his laywer will do his best to shrug Graf's actions off as everyday normal behavior. I'm sure he will also have many witnesses that testify they saw Graf before and he was not crazy or insane and acting like his normal self which indicates no premeditation. And covering up a murder does not prove premeditation.

I do not agree with the above by any means!! but a jury has very specific instructions based on how the law is worded. It is the burden off the prosecutor to prove without a reasonable doubt that this was premeditated. Nothing that we've heard to date in a court setting has indicated he has any prior violent behavior. There are jurors that will have a hard time understanding how this seemingly normal man planned this horrific act. It's hard to wrap your head around. They may believe he snapped in that moment and it was not premeditated murder, they may believe he planned on making an advance on her or rape but did not intend on killing her...and again they are instructed on the way the law is written and the sentences for 1st and 3rd degree murder are very different.

I hate to be Debbie Downer, but the law is confusing and complex. I'm hoping through all the legal BS that he is punished to the fullest extent of the law and a first degree sentence is handed down and Ms. Padgett gets the justice she so deserves.

Having said all this I absolutely think there is no reasonable doubt that he premeditated to do this. This should be a first degree sentence all the way. But that's up to a jury to decide with very strict instruction.

 

[jacct]

Riley Yates ‏@riley_yates 8m8 minutes ago Gregory Graf video shown to jurors, one teared up, all sat silent

The video was a constant presence in Gregory R. Graf's murder trial, even before it was played for the jury on Friday in a darkened courtroom.

Throughout testimony, its mere mention carried emotional resonance. During jury selection last week, one-fifth of the members of the jury pool were excused after they said they would be unable to watch it.

http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/...der-trial-video-recording-20151113-story.html

 

[jacct]

Riley Yates ‏@riley_yates 4m4 minutes ago Gregory Graf video shown to jurors as deliberations set to begin

The defense presented no witnesses, and jurors will soon begin their deliberations, after President Judge Stephen Baratta finishes instructing them on the law.

http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/...der-trial-video-recording-20151113-story.html

 

[steelman]

I suspect the deliberations will last about 30 minutes, and then he'll being going to jail permanently..... no parole, no talk of parole, no nothing. Bye, bye..... I hope this is the last we ever hear of this guy.

 

[jacct]

Riley Yates ‏@riley_yates [video=twitter;665228885534076931]https://twitter.com/riley_yates/status/665228885534076931[/video] Verdict in Graf trial. Maybe 10 minutes of deliberations.

Wow, that was much shorter than I anticipated. I thought at least an hour of deliberation. They must have picked a foreperson and taken a vote with a unanimous outcome.

 

[jacct]

I suspect the deliberations will last about 30 minutes, and then he'll being going to jail permanently..... no parole, no talk of parole, no nothing. Bye, bye..... I hope this is the last we ever hear of this guy.

Just saw your post. They beat your short time, I'm thinking it will be premeditated murder.

 

[pappa rob]

I suspect the deliberations will last about 30 minutes, and then he'll being going to jail permanently..... no parole, no talk of parole, no nothing. Bye, bye..... I hope this is the last we ever hear of this guy.

I think 30 minutes is pushing it, unless they stop for a coffee break.. I'm doing my best to forget all about him as soon as I can.

 

[jacct]

Gregory Graf guilty of first-degree murder in stepdaughter's killing


Gregory R. Graf was found guilty of first-degree murder Friday afternoon by a jury that deliberated less than 10 minutes, a decision that followed an emotional morning session when jurors viewed a video of him sexually abusing his stepdaughter's corpse.

So it was no surprise Friday afternoon when the jury quickly found Graf guilty of first-degree murder, guaranteeing him a sentence of life in prison without parole. The jury also convicted him of abuse of a corpse.

http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/...der-trial-video-recording-20151113-story.html

 

[pappa rob]

Gregory Graf guilty of first-degree murder in stepdaughter's killing


Gregory R. Graf was found guilty of first-degree murder Friday afternoon by a jury that deliberated less than 10 minutes, a decision that followed an emotional morning session when jurors viewed a video of him sexually abusing his stepdaughter's corpse.

So it was no surprise Friday afternoon when the jury quickly found Graf guilty of first-degree murder, guaranteeing him a sentence of life in prison without parole. The jury also convicted him of abuse of a corpse.

http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/...der-trial-video-recording-20151113-story.html

I guess they opted out of the coffee break, finally justice for Jessica. It's sad that he couldn't be put away before he killed her. Now he can try to hurt the ones around him, in his new setting..

 

[Ghostl8y]

I suspect the deliberations will last about 30 minutes, and then he'll being going to jail permanently..... no parole, no talk of parole, no nothing. Bye, bye..... I hope this is the last we ever hear of this guy.

HA! Jessica's sister posted on the Jessica facebook page that the jury deliberated for 6 minutes. Bless their hearts.

I hope the same....trash in, trash out. But I have a suspicion that due to the shock factor and how heinous this all was, book deals and movies will soon follow.

 

[steelman]

It's too bad the jurors now how to live the rest of their lives trying to be normal after watching his homemade video. No way to un-see it, it's imprinted on their brains forever now.

The court may want to consider offering some kind of counseling if required.....seeing how it was the "justice system" that let this charade play itself out. There's some things people do to other people that shouldn't have to be seen in real time, trial or not.

I wonder how much money the high profile attorney charged to put on his huge failure of a defense ?
30 grand, 40 grand, 70 grand ? Pretty good money for not being able to do jack squat for your client.