Frederick Balester
WILKES-BARRE — During the preliminary hearing of homicide suspect Frederick Balester held Feb. 17, retired forensic pathologist Dr. Gary Ross testified that two identical circular marks on the back of Jonathan Balester could have been caused by a stun gun.
No such testimony will be offered during Frederick Balester’s homicide trial.
Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas Judge Michael T. Vough on Friday ruled that Ross is not permitted to give a medical opinion that suspected burn marks or lesions on Jonathan Balester’s back were caused by a stun gun or taser.
Vough further ruled prosecutors are limited to certain questions they may direct to Frederick Balester’s wife, Nancy Balester, if she is called to testify.
The judge’s rulings come a day after a motions hearing held Thursday when Frederick Balester’s attorneys, Theron J. Solomon and Nicole M. Psaila, sought to prevent Nancy Balester from testifying against her husband as their client did not waive the state’s marital privilege doctrine, and to exclude Ross from testifying about the suspected burn marks or lesions on the back of Jonathan Balester.
Assistant District Attorney Jill Matthews, who, along with District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce and Assistant District Attorney Julian Truskowski, is prosecuting, said Nancy Balester waived marital privilege when she was accompanied by a friend when she was questioned by state police investigators.
Vough’s ruling regarding Nancy Balester prevents prosecutors from asking her about private communications she had alone with her husband, but prosecutors can ask questions when Nancy Balester was in the presence of a “third-party.”
Vough postponed Frederick Balester’s trial, which was scheduled to start Friday with jury selection, until Dec. 4, due to legal issues involving a defense expert’s report.
The Pennsylvania State Police at Wilkes-Barre, Troop P, charged Frederick Balester, 70, with fatally stabbing his cousin, Jonathan, 56, in a dispute about selling the family business, Balester Optical, in May 2011. Frederick Balester, of Constitution Avenue, Hanover Township, was charged with criminal homicide in January 2026, based on Ross’ amended autopsy findings in April 2025 that a stun gun was used on Jonathan Balester.
Solomon and Psaila have argued that Ross, despite conducting nearly 8,000 autopsies in his distinguished pathologist career, has never seen stun gun burn marks.
Solomon and Psaila have argued that a former district attorney had “fed” Ross pictures of stun gun burns on human flesh when requested to review Jonathan Balester’s autopsy pictures in April 2025.
Ross conducted the autopsy of Jonathan Balester and had previously said he suffered 17 stab wounds.
Jonathan Balester’s body was found during a welfare check at his North Lehigh Street, Kingston Township, home on May 26, 2011, after he missed a company shareholder meeting.
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