Will Subu Vedam get a new trial? A decision from a Centre County judge is likely months away
A State College man convicted of murder for a killing he says he did not commit will have to wait several months before he learns whether his legal team earned him a new trial.
Subramanyam “Subu” Vedam’s defense lawyers spent Thursday and Friday attempting to convince Centre County President Judge Jonathan Grine that a recently unearthed FBI report from the 1980s could have exonerated him.
After listening to hours of testimony from forensic anthropology experts, Grine gave Vedam’s legal team and Centre County prosecutors a combined 75 days to file additional documents to bolster their positions. The clock will start ticking once they receive a transcript of the hearings, a process expected to take at least a month. It’s unlikely Grine will issue his ruling until at least the summer.
A handful of accomplished experts in the field spent more than 10 hours testifying about fatal gunshot wounds caused by .22- and .25-caliber bullets, a difference of millimeters.
North Carolina State professor Ann H. Ross testified Thursday she believes Thomas Kinser, 19, of Boalsburg, was likely killed by a .22-caliber bullet. Prosecutors have alleged Kinser was killed by a larger .25-caliber bullet.
Angi Christensen, a forensic anthropologist with the FBI, testified Friday she disagreed with Ross’ opinion. She went as far as saying Ross’ claims were “not supported by her own research.”
Dennis Dirkmaat, an anthropology professor at Mercyhurst, and Todd Neumyer, a retired Pennsylvania State Police firearm examiner, similarly disagreed with Ross.
Vedam was twice convicted of first-degree murder in the 1980s. He’s long maintained his innocence as prosecutors built a circumstantial case against him.
Kinser’s decomposing remains were found about nine months after he went missing in a wooded part of Harris Township. No one saw Kinser alive after he and Vedam went to Lewistown to buy drugs. No weapon was ever recovered.
Speaking after the hearing Friday, Centre County District Attorney Bernie Cantorna stood by his belief that Vedam killed Kinser with a .25-caliber bullet. He said the evidence presented over two days and at two previous trials support the conviction.
Vedam, 63, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He’s spent about two-thirds of his life at Huntingdon state prison. His legal team is attempting to convince Grine there would have been a reasonable likelihood of a different outcome at trial.
He did not speak either Thursday or Friday, days which marked his first return to the Centre County Courthouse in more than four decades.
Dozens of people sat through both days of testimony, including immediate family members who occasionally offered tearful hugs to one another.
Saraswathi Vedam, Subu’s sister, said Thursday that the family remains hopeful he will be exonerated, but also appeared emotional when telling reporters the family is “deeply troubled” it took more than four decades for the evidence to surface.
Now they — as well as Kinser’s family — will have to wait a few months longer.