Chisley appeal fails

Court upholds sentence of former PSU football player in killing of friend

Sara Ganim

The state Superior Court has denied the appeal of convicted murderer LaVon Chisley, upholding the sentence of life without parole that was imposed immediately after his September 2007 conviction.

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Chisley, a former Penn State football player, was found guilty of killing his friend Langston Carraway in Carraway’s Patton Township apartment, where Chisley occasionally stayed and kept drugs and money.

Chisley’s attorney, Karen Muir, argued the case was so weak that the guilty verdict on first-and third-degree murder charges shouldn’t be upheld.

But the court ruled that a reasonable juror could use the evidence presented at trial to find that Chisley was Carraway’s killer, and denied the appeal.

Carraway was found June 5, 2006, with a slashed throat in a pool of blood and with 93 stab wounds to his body — 41 defensive wounds, and 37 inflicted after Carraway was dead.

Inside the blood-spattered apartment, police also found a black rubber glove with DNA inside. A lab found the DNA was most likely Chisley’s. Also found were shoe prints that were consistent with the size and tread of shoes Chisley wore, police said.

Muir said she hasn’t seen the court’s opinion but added, “I can anticipate that LaVon will be very disappointed with the decision.”

Sara Ganim can be reached at 231-4616.