SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The Indiana Supreme Court has agreed to review the conviction of a man serving a 160-year sentence for killing his father, stepmother and two stepsisters so he could attend high school prom events in 1989.
The Supreme Court handed down its decision after hearing oral arguments last week on whether it should reconsider the Indiana Court of Appeals’ decision to set aside the conviction of Jeffrey Pelley, 36, because his constitutional rights to a speedy trial were violated.
The key issue is whether prosecutors were to blame for a delay in Pelley’s trial while courts considered a request from prosecutors for access to counseling records of a psychologist who met with family members for three years before the slayings.
“The issue of speedy trials is one that merits review by the court, particularly when delays are outside the control of a prosecutor,” Attorney General Steve Carter said Tuesday. “There could be severe consequences if prosecutors are not able to pursue evidence that may assist in obtaining a conviction if a defendant can challenge it and eventually cry foul over the time courts take to determine the outcome of a challenge.”
Pelley’s attorney, Stacy Uliana, said she was disappointed by the court’s decision because if the court had refused to review the case Pelley would have been a free man.
“Jeff’s family, I’m sure Jeff, everyone is disappointed because we won at the Court of Appeals and now we’re starting over,” she said. “It doesn’t mean that Jeff still isn’t going to prevail. But it’s just like starting over.”
The bodies of the Rev. Robert Pelley, 38, Dawn Pelley, 32, and their daughters Janel, 8, and Jolene, 6, were found April 30, 1989, at the parsonage of Olive Branch Church of the United Brethren in Lakeville, about 10 miles south of South Bend. Parishioners gathering for Sunday services found the bodies.
Although Jeffrey Pelley, who was then 17, was the prime suspect from the outset, he was not charged until August 2002. He was convicted of the murders in July 2006.
Uliana has argued in court that Pelley should not be blamed for the trial delay because he was not directly involved in the dispute.
The state subpoenaed the Family and Children’s Center seeking all Pelley family counseling records for three years leading up to the murders. The center refused, arguing they were protected information under counselor/client privilege. The state Supreme Court rejected that argument in June 2005.
Uliana said she expected the Supreme Court will review all the issues in the case, meaning it could look at Pelley’s argument that the case was based on the theory that Pelley killed his four family members because his father would not allow him to attend a dinner before the prom and an outing the next day to an amusement park as punishment for stealing something.
“They based that on hearsay from Jeff’s father, that he told some people he was not going to allow Jeff to go to pre- and post-prom,” she said.
Uliana contends those statements should not have been admissible.
Pelley remains in prison awaiting the Supreme Court’s decision.
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