HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - A Pennsylvania appeals court has rejected the latest appeal of a Maryland man serving two consecutive life sentences for the 1979 deaths of an elderly brother and sister, who died of starvation and dehydration after being tied up during a robbery at their home.
John Arthur Askew was convicted of murder and robbery charges in 1989 stemming from the deaths of 87-year-old Mary Swarr and her 81-year-old brother Horace a decade earlier.
Police said the now-79-year-old Askew was one of four men who tied the siblings’ up inside their Lancaster home, blindfolded and gagged them and robbed them. The siblings were found dead a week later.
PennLive.com reports (https://bit.ly/2fxFEPC ) a panel of judges denied his latest appeal on Wednesday. They say his challenge missed the filing deadline by two decades.
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Information from: Pennlive.com, https://www.pennlive.com
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