What constitutes intent?
That question was on the minds of a Lackawanna County jury late Tuesday as its members approached their fifth hour of deliberations in the murder case against Justin Schuback.
Judge Terrence R. Nealon advised the panel of six women and six men at 5:41 p.m. that he could not expand on the term beyond the formal written instructions jurors had been given explaining the charges before they left the courtroom to begin deliberations at 12:33 p.m.
Jurors informed the judge soon afterward that they wished to break for the night, with deliberations to resume at 9 a.m. Wednesday.
Schuback, 38, who is accused of killing Old Forge restaurant owner Robert Baron in 2017, faces charges first-, second- and third-degree murder as well as robbery, burglary and theft.
Defense attorney Bernie Brown sought to convince jurors that the Commonwealth failed to present evidence proving beyond a reasonable doubt that Schuback killed Baron, robbed his business and disposed of his body on the night of Jan. 25-26, 2017.
"Probability and possibility isn't good enough," said Brown, who has sought to cast doubt not just on the physical evidence presented during four-and-a-half days of testimony, but to cast suspicion on others — particularly Baron's son, Bobby Baron, who also struggled with addiction and admitted stealing from his family's business in the past.
"The government didn't carry that highest burden in the land," Brown said, before placing his hands on Schuback's shoulders as he concluded his statement.
Lackawanna County District Attorney Mark Powell in his closing statement argued that "the overwhelming evidence all points to the defendant," and called on the jury to give the Baron family closure they've been denied for seven years.
"It all fits as to where he was that night," Powell said of Schuback.
The trial began with opening statements on May 6, followed by four-and-a-half days of testimony by prosecution witnesses.
The prosecution rested on Monday. Schuback opted not to exercise his right to testify, and the defense did not call any witnesses.
Background and basics
Baron, the owner of Ghigiarelli’s Restaurant in Old Forge, failed to show up at the eatery as usual on the morning of Jan. 26, 2017 and never contacted anyone, which family said was uncharacteristic of him.
Despite evidence of a bloody attack inside the restaurant and blood found inside a car that Baron had been using, his remains were not located until March 2023.
Investigators said Schuback was a suspect from early in the case, but it took several years to uncover the evidence necessary to make an arrest.
During a press conference following Schuback's arrest last year, Powell said advances in cellular phone tracking technology eventually helped them trace Shuback's movements around the time Baron disappeared.
While cellphone tracking allegedly places Schuback at Ghigiarelli’s on Jan. 25, 2017 and in the woods near the power pole line early the next day, defense attorney Brown has pointed out that there is no blood or DNA evidence placing his client inside the restaurant, where Baron is believed to have been killed.
And, Brown argued, there was no DNA or blood evidence on clothing recovered from Schuback’s home tying him to the crime.
However, a state police corporal testified later that Schuback’s DNA was found in the Hyundai Baron Sr. had been using.
Brown: Five questions for jurors
Brown urged the jury to consider five questions in weighing the case against Schuback:
- If Schuback killed Baron, how did he get inside the restaurant?
- If Schuback killed Baron, why was there no physical evidence placing him inside the restaurant?
- If Schuback killed Baron, how did he break in, fight and kill Baron, clean up the scene, and remove a dead body in the amount of time he allegedly was in the restaurant?
- If Schuback killed Baron, how did he manage to show up at home later that morning with no blood on him?
- What about other reasonable suspects?
Powell: Not what, but who
Powell's questions for the jury were more succinct: Did a murder take place? And did the defendant commit the murder?
He was adamant that the basics of the crime itself have been well established.
"We know there was a brutal robbery and attack in the restaurant," Powell said. "It doesn't matter how they gained access. What happened isn't in dispute."
"The question is who," he said.
He told jurors that questions of motive, opportunity and evidence all pointed to Schuback.
"He was desperate for drugs, no job, no money, looking for his next fix," Powell said, adding that Schuback owed money to his only supplier, Pat Boyle.
Boyle testified last week that het met Schuback briefly at around 12:30 a.m. on Jan. 26, 2017 to transact a drug deal behind a business off Main Street in Old Forge.
Prosecutors say Schuback was in debt to Boyle for $60. Boyle testified that Schuback paid him back the $60 at that time and then bought roughly 10 bags of heroin, worth around $150, using “crumpled up” $5, $10 and $20 bills.
As for opportunity, Powell noted that Schuback's whereabouts were largely unknown for a five-hour period when neither Boyle nor his girlfriend, Kortney Rake, knew where he was, save for that brief drug deal that was corroborated by Rake, Boyle, and text messages retrieved by investigators.
The timeline
Powell reminded jurors of a timeline established by cellphone tracking described during testimony by FBI Special Agent Michael Sabric, which relied on cell tower data that allegedly determined Schuback's phone was in the following locations on Jan. 25-26, 2017:
- 9-11 p.m. — Home at 3 Foundry St., Old Forge
- 11:01 p.m. — Leaves home
- 11:28 p.m.-12:12 a.m. — Stationary at Ghigiarelli’s. This is during the time Baron allegedly was killed.
- 12:25 a.m. — Behind the UPS Store in Old Forge, which is where the drug deal with Boyle took place.
- 12:39-1:45 a.m. — Stationary at Ghigiarelli’s again. Powell said this when Schuback would have been cleaning up and preparing to dispose of Baron's Body.
- 2:01-2:15 a.m. — Stationary in the woods near Pagnotti Park. "This is where he dumps the body," Powell said.
- 2:22 a.m. — On Connell Street, where witnesses claimed to have seen the Hyundai that morning.
- 3-6:26 a.m. — Stationary at home on Foundry street.
- 6:26-8:26 a.m. — Stationary at Pagnotti Park, where Powell said he was spending more time disposing of Baron's body.
- 8:39 a.m. — Moving car from Connell Street to Howard Street, where it was later found.
- 8:41 a.m. — Walking into Ary's gas station. Video showing Schuback entering and leaving the store was previously shown to the jury.
- 9:01 a.m. — Home at Foundry Street.
"It all fits," Powell said. "That's the five hours he was missing. That's when the murder happens. That's when the cleanup happens. It all fits."
Brown: Beyond a reasonable doubt?
Brown in his closing urged jurors to ask whether the Commonwealth had proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt — including whether the cellphone tracking data was precise enough to place Schuback not just near those places but, vitally, inside the restaurant.
Rather, he argued, the RTT ("range to tower") data provided only broad arcs "in the vicinity" of where Schuback was estimated to have been.
"Close enough isn't good enough," Brown said.
That was another question that lingered with the jury during the long afternoon.
Counsel for both sides returned to the courtroom around 2:30 p.m. as the jury wanted to see the "range to tower" cellphone tracking evidence during their deliberations.
Brown also asked the jury to consider whether Schuback was capable of committing the crime on his own, noting that he was 5-foot-11 and 180 pounds at the time, and Baron was 5-foot-8 and 190 pounds.
It led to a dramatic moment in which Brown hunched before the jury and loudly clomped his feet, as if dragging a body, asking whether they believed Schuback not only killed Baron and cleaned up the murder scene alone, but was capable of then hauling his remains 450 feet from the car into the woods.
Brown also reminded them that neither Rake nor Boyle observed blood on his clothes that night.
'He almost got away with murder'
Powell, in his closing, reminded jurors that internet search history showed that Schuback had been researching how to successfully pull of a bank robbery prior to the incident, and that the lack of DNA in the restaurant pointed to a suspect who had "planned well enough to leave no DNA behind."
"He almost got away with murder," Powell told the jury.
On Wednesday morning, those 12 individuals will continue deliberating on whether they believe that.
Previous stories
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