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WILKES-BARRE — On the same day that one convicted killer took the stand attempting to get a new sentence, another was also granted the right to appeal his own, both thanks to the same Supreme Court decision.
Todd Hyung-Rae Tarselli, 44, has been serving a life sentence for the 1992 death of Mark Bunchalk, 17, during a robbery at the Kentucky Fried Chicken on Broad Street in Hazleton.
Tarselli shot Bunchalk nine times and strangled him with a phone cord before stealing $1,068, court records say.
On Tuesday, Tarselli was granted the right to appeal his sentence on the grounds that he may have been a minor at the time of the murder.
The order, signed by Luzerne County Judge Michael T. Vough, allows the appeal under the Miller v. Alabama Supreme Court decision, which prevents mandatory life sentences for juveniles.
Tarselli claims he was 17 when the murder occurred, while state records suggest he was 18 at the time. Tarselli, who was born in South Korea and was adopted by an American family, says the discrepancy comes from a difference in how age is counted by Koreans.
“When a child is born in Korea, he is 1 year old, further, if the following day is Chinese New Year, he is considered 2 years old when in fact chronologically he is only two days old,” Tarselli wrote in a previous relief appeal.
Previous attempts by Tarselli for a new sentence were blocked by the state Superior Court, as Miller v. Alabama originally could not be applied to retroactive decisions. Later, another case allowed for the Miller decision to be applied retroactively.
These are the same cases that allowed for convicted killer Kenneth Carl Crawford III to be granted a re-sentencing hearing this week in Luzerne County Court.
Tarselli had also suggested he was entitled to certain rights as a juvenile, but Vough said this part of the motion was untimely.
A hearing date for Tarselli’s appeal has not yet been set.