Attorney for man charged in 2 deaths says client’s mental health a major factor

PITTSBURGH — Since February, Adam Rosenberg has been held at the Allegheny County Jail for allegedly killing two men in separate incidents. In those nine months, however, his attorney says many things have changed, particularly Rosenberg’s mental health.

Rosenberg learned Friday he will stand trial for the shooting death of his college friend Christian Moore-Rouse, the second of two homicide charges he is facing.

“Some evidence we weren’t expecting, quite frankly, came forward. The defense team, as a whole, is going to sit back and review that new evidence,” said Casey White, Rosenberg’s attorney.

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A Dec. 21, 2019 surveillance photo from a Port Authority bus was one the last times Moore-Rouse was seen alive. Later that night, investigators said Rosenberg lured him to a home in Fox Chapel. In text messages read in court Friday, Rosenberg asked Moore-Rouse if he had told his stepfather he was coming over. Moore-Rouse replied yes. That was the last written communication between the two.

Moore-Rouse was missing for more than two months when investigators found his remains near Rosenberg’s parents home. Ten days before that, Rosenberg was charged with homicide in the shooting death of Jeremy Dentel inside Dentel’s Baldwin home.

“Adam’s (Rosenberg’s) mental health is an issue in this case. I think it’s an issue for our defense team and it’s also an issue for the Commonwealth. They have to realize, and I think they have realized, that Adam Rosenberg has a mental illness,” White said.

Rosenberg will have another hearing to determine the next steps in the case.

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