WASHINGTON, Pa. — A jury heard arguments and more evidence Wednesday as the death penalty phase of a trial continued for a Pittsburgh man found guilty of first-degree murder in the death of his estranged girlfriend.
The Washington County jury on Monday took just 75 minutes to find 26-year-old Jordan Clemons guilty of first-degree murder in the death of 21-year-old Karissa Kunco.
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Clemons' defense attorney has argued he was acting irrationally and didn't plan to kill Kunco.
Expert witnesses took the stand Wednesday to discuss Clemon’s brain injuries.
Dr. Sue Beers, with the University of Pittsburgh, testified that when Clemons was given an MRI, CAT scan and other tests in February, there were abnormal images all around his brain.
Beers listed reasons that Clemons gave her for the possible mild brain trauma, which included being battered by his father, falling down stairs, blacking out after being hit, football injuries, playground accidents and car crashes.
Beers did not have medical records to support those claims. Prosecutors only had a medical report of a football injury from 2006 on file where a CAT scan showed no injury at that time.
Clemon’s father, Robert Clemons, testified Tuesday, saying that when his son was growing up, he beat him like a grown man and also his wife.
“I'm not going to say it led to the murder, but a lot of my past actions contributed to things that brought out anger in him,” he said. “His father, who used to be Superman in his eyes, had failed him. That’s the bottom line. That’s what I did.”
Prosecutors say Clemons slashed Kunco's throat so deeply the knife hit her spine. Now, Clemons seeks mercy from the same jury who heard that grisly evidence.
Kunco's body was found in a wooded area of Mount Pleasant Township in January 2012 a day after Kunco's family reported her missing.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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