Fink found guilty of first-degree murder

WILKES-BARRE – George H. Fink Sr. will be spending the rest of his life in prison after a Luzerne County judge on Wednesday found him guilty of first-degree murder.

The verdict, rendered by Court of Common Pleas Judge Michael Conahan, came after two days of testimony in a non-jury trial.

Prosecutors said Fink, 53, threatened to kill his ex-girlfriend, 42-year-old Charlene DeWitt, in the weeks before her January 2006 death. Then, on Jan. 20, he got a ride to her Union Township home and hid inside waiting for her before grabbing her, bounding her with duct tape, and smothering her to death, prosecutors said.

Fink later told police he was at the home, confronted DeWitt, and snapped. But that’s all he said he remembered.

The circumstances made the case more about whether Fink killed DeWitt in a premeditated fashion, which would make him guilty of first-degree murder, or in an unintentional fashion, which would have made him guilty of third-degree murder or manslaughter.

The first-degree murder charge carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison. A third-degree murder charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 to 40 years in prison.

Assistant district attorneys William Finnegan, Nancy Violi and Maureen Collins argued that Fink’s repeated threats, the way he “lied in wait” at DeWitt’s home, and the way he smothered DeWitt showed he was guilty of first-degree murder.

Finnegan said premeditation could be made in a fraction of a second. In this case, it would have taken at least two minutes for DeWitt to have been smothered to death, he said. That showed Fink meant to kill DeWitt, Finnegan said.

Fink’s defense team of attorneys Stephen Menn, Matthew Kelly, and Brian Corcoran argued Fink’s words were idle threats and he never intended to kill DeWitt. Fink’s admission that he was at the home and confronted DeWitt before blacking out showed he was guilty of third-degree murder or voluntary manslaughter, not first-degree murder, Menn said.

Menn said Fink’s prior attorneys agreed to have a non-jury trial when prosecutors agreed to stop seeking the death penalty.

Fink, who was also found guilty of false imprisonment and criminal trespass, was taken back to prison after the verdict. Conahan will sentence him July 26.