WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (AP) - The capital murder case of a man convicted in February of strangling a pharmacist and his girlfriend whose bodies were found buried in his yard cost Pennsylvania taxpayers more than $750,000.
The Citizens’ Voice reports Friday (https://bit.ly/1bTOIYn ) the cost of defending Hugo Selenski was more than double the cost of prosecution.
The newspaper reports Luzerne County paid at least $517,351 for the 41-year-old’s defense, not counting salaries for prior lawyers.
Prosecutors spent just shy of 199,577 since 2006. That includes $67,500 paid to Dr. Michael Baden, the former New York City chief medical examiner, who testified as an expert witness.
Selenski lawyer Edward Rymsza was paid $114,858 and a mitigation expert who worked to spare Selenski from the death penalty charged $82,583.
Selenski is serving life in prison without parole.
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Information from: The Citizens’ Voice, https://www.citizensvoice.com
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