Treating Killer Soldier with a Feather Glove: Moronic DA won't seek death penalty for soldier accused of killing, mutilating, burning teen girlfriend's mother
The killers within: The statistics show that Active and Former Soldiers Commit a Large number of Murders in the United States
Martin said there are no aggravating factors in the case against Caleb Barnes, a 21-year-old Army soldier who had been stationed at Fort Meade, Maryland. Aggravating factors can include killing someone in the commission of another felony, or if a defendant has a history of felony convictions.
Barnes and Jamie Silvonek, 14, were in Lehigh County Court on Wednesday morning for arraignments on charges connected with the killing of Silvonek's mother, Cheryl.
Prosecutors say Barnes brutally stabbed the elder Silvonek in the neck in the early morning of March 15 after she repeatedly tried to break up the couple, going so far as to show Barnes her daughter's passport to convince him of the girl's age.
Silvonek and Barnes are each charged with homicide, conspiracy, abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence. The pair had separate formal arraignments Wednesday.
Prosecutors usually file notice of aggravating circumstances -- indications they will seek the death penalty if a person is convicted of first-degree murder -- on or before formal arraignments.
Prosecutors could not seek the death penalty against Silvonek; the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the death penalty for defendants under the age of 18 is cruel and unusual punishment.
Attorneys are scheduled to meet next month to determine if Silvonek will be tried as an adult. Defense attorney John Waldron is seeking to have her case sent to juvenile court.
Pretrial hearings are scheduled for August, but a trial date won't be set until Lehigh County Judge Maria Dantos decides on where Silvonek's case will end up.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Jeff Dimmig said prosecutors have received sealed medical records from the military for Barnes, who was on leave when the killing occurred.
Dimmig said his office is waiting on a search warrant before opening the records, so he is not sure if they include any type of mental health records.
Asked if prosecutors requested any type of criminal or infraction records from the military related to Barnes, Dimmig said, "That's been part of our investigation."
Prosecutors alleged the couple plotted to kill both of Silvonek's parents as a way to be together. They said Jamie Silvonek was 13 but told Barnes she was 17, and the two communicated daily since they met.
Authorities say Cheryl Silvonek first met Barnes on March 6. When she learned the soldier was a 20-year-old, she told her daughter the relationship had to end, authorities say.
Martin released text messages between the couple that indicated they spoke for hours about killing Cheryl Silvonek before she was fatally stabbed in a car in the driveway of the family's Randi Lane home in Upper Macungie Township.
A friend of Silvonek testified at the pair's preliminary hearing that they discussed killing Silvonek's parents over the phone.
"It was something along the lines of, like, 'What if my parents were killed,'" the girl testified on May 14. "I told her it wasn't a smart idea at all."
Police say after driving to a concert and back on March 15, a confrontation occurred between Barnes and Cheryl Silvonek. Barnes strangled Silvonek as she begged for her life while her daughter watched, police say.
After the killing, prosecutors said Barnes and Jamie Silvonek drove to a Wal-Mart to get supplies and returned to the house. Cheryl Silvonek's body was then driven to a rural area in South Whitehall Township and set on fire, prosecutors say. Barnes and Jamie Silvonek then dumped the blood-laden car in a nearby pond before walking back to the Silvonek home, authorities say.