Miller
MARTINSBURG Paul Aaron Ross’ plea to third-degree murder gave Pamela Sunderland satisfaction that she hasn’t had since her daughter’s death in 2004.
Ross charged with killing and sexually assaulting 26-year-old Tina S. Miller of Hollidaysburg entered no contest pleas on Tuesday in Blair County Court.
“I know (Ross) said ‘no contest’ in court, but that’s just a legal term,” Sunderland said at her Martinsburg home on Friday.
“To me, he can never again say that he is innocent,” she said.
While some defendants render no contest pleas to avoid admitting guilt in court, Pennsylvania law treats no contest pleas as convictions, with no distinction in sentencing procedures.
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kstephens@altoonamirror.com
HOLLIDAYSBURG A retired state police investigator told a Blair County jury Thursday that officers took about three months to pursue information before filing charges against Paul Aaron Ross of Hollidaysburg in the 2004 death of Tina S. Miller.
“There was no rush to judgment here,” said Dave Aiello, who testified about the efforts he and fellow investigators made to identify who killed Miller, a 26-year-old Hollidaysburg woman whose body was found June 27, 2004, partly submerged in a tributary to the lake at Canoe Creek State Park.
Aiello said 92 days passed between Miller’s death and the filing of first-degree murder and related sexual assault charges against Ross. During that time, officers interviewed 220 people, collected 233 pieces of evidence, arranged for analysis of 61 pieces of evidence and handled 18 searches, including 10 searches for which they obtained warrants, he said.
kstephens@altoonamirror.com
HOLLIDAYSBURG DNA in the mouth of a 26-year-old Hollidaysburg woman found dead in 2004 at Canoe Creek State Park more likely belongs to Paul Aaron Ross than any other male, a forensic pathologist told a Blair County jury on Wednesday.
Jeffrey Zachetti, forensic DNA manager for the state police crime laboratory at Greensburg, said he pinpointed that greater likelihood in 2014 while using updated DNA testing procedures to re-examine materials collected during Tina S. Miller’s autopsy.
Miller and Ross were last seen together at the state park in the early morning hours of June 27, 2004, where a friend dropped them off near Ross’ residence.