Pennsylvania Daybook

Democratic Party splits in Senate, attorney general races

GREENSBURG, Pa. (AP) — A judge has rejected a man's appeal of his first-degree murder conviction and death sentence in the torture slaying of a mentally disabled woman six years ago in western Pennsylvania. Thirty-nine-year-old Ricky Smyrnes was convicted in Westmoreland County in the February 2010 murder of 30-year-old Jennifer Daughtery. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (http://bit.ly/1VZ7ajA ) reports that Judge Rita Hathaway rejected his appeal Friday, saying prosecutors presented enough evidence that he was the ringleader of six roommates who tortured, beat and killed the victim in a dingy Greensburg apartment. Defense attorneys challenged decisions on witness testimony and other rulings on legal issues and also said the evidence didn't support a first-degree murder conviction or the death penalty. Smyrnes and Melvin Knight were sentenced to death and the others are serving decades in prison. ___ Information from: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, http://pghtrib.com

Judge upholds conviction, death sentence in torture slaying