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The state Supreme Court has declined to hear double homicide suspect Hugo Selenski’s appeal of a ruling regarding the admissibility of testimony, possibly clearing the way for his long-delayed trial for the deaths of Michael Kerkowski and Tammy Fassett.
The court on Thursday denied Selenski’s appeal of Luzerne County Judge Chester Muroski’s ruling relating to the admissibility of statements that were made by the now deceased father of Michael Kerkowski.
Selenski is charged with killing Kerkowski and Fassett in 2002. Their bodies were unearthed at the home he shared with this girlfriend on Mount Olivet Road in Kingston Township in June 2003.
Muroski previously ruled a transcript of testimony given by Kerkowski’s father, who was also named Michael, could be admitted into evidence at the trial. The elder Kerkowski had testified at Selenski’s preliminary hearing and was scheduled to testify at the trial, but he died in September 2006.
The court’s ruling appears to clear the way for the trial to start. Under state law, Selenski’s attorneys could ask the court to reconsider its decision. They would have to do that within 14 days. They could also seek to appeal the court’s ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court, which would further delay the trial.
It could not be determined if they will take either action. Attorneys in the case are under a gag order that prohibits them from commenting on any aspect of the case.