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Plymouth Twp. man pleads guilty to sister’s stabbing death

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<p>EDWARDSVILLE &#8212; State police at Wyoming charged three people and the granddaughter in the stabbing death of 71-year-old Joseph Monka.</p><p>Monka was found dead from multiple stab wounds inside his residence at 30 Arch St., Edwardsville, on Wednesday. Investigators suspect Monka was killed Monday when his granddaughter, Gabriella Elizabeth Long, 17, invited Mercedes Lin Hall, 16, Christopher Brian Cortez, 19, and Devin Malik Cunningham, 20, to sleep over Sunday night.</p><p>Long resided with her grandfather.</p><p>After Monka was killed, investigators allege the four ransacked the residence stealing nearly $30,000 from a safe, took showers together and fled in Monka&#8217;s 2016 Kia Soul.</p><p>Investigators believe they purchased new clothes, shoes and cell phones at the Wyoming Valley Mall, changing in rest rooms at the food court, and disposed of their old clothes in a trash can.</p><p>Long, Hall and Cortez were found Wednesday leaving a motel room at the Red Roof Inn in Plains Township where the Kia was located.</p><p>Cunningham, also known as &#8220;Polo,&#8221; has not been located. His address on an arrest warrant list 43 N. Empire St., Wilkes-Barre, as his residence. Cunningham also resided at 121 W. Vaughn St., Kingston, when he was charged by Kingston police March 25 rummaging through vehicles on Page Avenue, court records say.</p><p>Long, Hall, of East Grove Street, Kingston, and Cortez, of McHale Street, Wilkes-Barre, were arraigned early Thursday morning by District Judge James Haggerty in Kingston on charges of criminal homicide, criminal conspiracy to commit homicide, unauthorized use of a vehicle, tampering with evidence and two counts each of theft and criminal conspiracy to commit theft. They were jailed at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility without bail.</p><p>According to the criminal complaints:</p><p>Police responded to Monka&#8217;s residence for a welfare check due to him not being seen for several days.</p><p>Monka was found unresponsive on a bedroom floor in a pool of blood and a dresser on top of him.</p><p>Police said the residence was ransacked and Monka&#8217;s Kia was missing. Long was also reported as a missing juvenile.</p><p>Investigators learned Long and her boyfriend, Cortez, frequented the Red Roof Inn on state Route 315 where the Kia was found at about 6:50 p.m. Wednesday. Shortly after the vehicle was found, Long, Hall and Cortez were seen exiting a motel room and entering a taxi when they were detained.</p><p>During interviews with investigators, Long and Hall claimed they were inside a bedroom listening to music when Cortez and Cunningham left the room for about one hour.</p><p>Hall claimed she went to look for Cortez and Cunningham inside the house and knocked on Monka&#8217;s bedroom door. She claimed Cortez was covered in blood when he opened the door and saw Monka&#8217;s body on the floor.</p><p>Cortez suffered an injury to his hand that was bandaged by Long and Hall, the complaints say.</p><p>After ransacking the house, Long took a shower with Cortez and Hall took a shower with Cunningham. They left, slept in the Kia Monday night into Tuesday and met a friend at Kirby Park where they gave the friend money to rent a room at the Red Roof Inn for Tuesday night through Thursday night.</p><p>Long and Hall told investigators, the complaints say, they drove to the Wyoming Valley Mall to purchase new clothes, shoes and cell phones.</p><p>Long claimed about a week ago Cortez threatened to kill her grandfather.</p><p>Anyone with information about the whereabouts of Cunningham is asked to call state police at Wyoming at 570-697-2000.</p><style>
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<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/web1_Edwardsville-homicide-5.jpg">
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<div class="neCaption">Long</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/web1_Gabriella-Long-FB-3.jpg</photo1><caption1>Long</caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/web1_Mercedes-Lin-Hall-FB-3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Hall</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/web1_Mercedes-Lin-Hall-FB-3.jpg</photo2><caption2>Hall</caption2><photoCredit2></photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/web1_Devin-Cunningham-PSP-04172019-5.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Cunningham</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/web1_Devin-Cunningham-PSP-04172019-5.jpg</photo3><caption3>Cunningham</caption3><photoCredit3></photoCredit3></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Ed Lewis</p><p>elewis@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div>

Four charged in stabbing death of Edwardsville man