Both Hempfield Township teenagers accused in the brutal claw hammer slaying of 18-year-old Adam Bishop last spring will be tried as adults on charges of first-degree murder.
Westmoreland County Judge Debra A. Pezze issued a four-page order on Thursday in which she denied a request from 15-year-old Robert M. Laskowski to transfer his case to juvenile court.
Last summer, Pezze refused to send the case against Ian Bishop, also 15, to the juvenile court system.
Laskowski and Ian Bishop are charged with the April 19 bludgeoning death of Bishop's older brother in the family's home in the township's Bovard neighborhood. Authorities contend Adam Bishop was struck by his brother at least 15 times with a hammer and was moved to various parts of the home before he was left to die in a bathtub.
In her ruling, Pezze wrote that while it appears Laskowski did not strike Adam Bishop, he did help move the body, failed to help the victim and agreed to assist Ian Bishop in a plan to kill his brother and in an unfulfilled plot to kill Bishop's parents.
"A young man with a promising future was brutally murdered in an unprovoked attack carried out by his younger brother with the aid, albeit limited, of Robert Laskowski," Pezze wrote.
She ruled that despite testimony offered during two hearings earlier this year in which Laskowski was shown as a nonviolent but troubled teen with no criminal record, he was not a proper candidate for a juvenile court prosecution.
Had Laskowski been successful in his attempt to have his case transferred to juvenile court, he could be kept in custody only until his 21st birthday.
As a result of yesterday's ruling, Laskowski now faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole if he is convicted of first-degree murder.
The prospect of having Laskowski freed after serving only six years in part led to Pezze's decision to refuse the transfer to juvenile court.
"I fear that the defendant poses a danger to the public. He has such a compulsive desire to be accepted that he would clearly agree to do anything. In this case, he agreed to aid in the commission of a crime of dramatic proportion," Pezze wrote.
Defense attorney Lee Demosky said his client is considering filing an appeal, but a decision won't be made for about a month.
The defense contended that Laskowski was not involved in the murder and that he had no forewarning that Ian Bishop was about to kill his brother when he went to the Bishop house after school on April 19.
Laskowski told a psychologist that initially he agreed to participate and did not try to stop the fatal beating of Adam Bishop because he was paralyzed with fear.
But police claim Laskowski told them a different story when he was taken into custody.
Laskowski told police that he knew about Ian Bishop's plans three days before the attack and went to the Bishop home to help execute the plot to kill his brother and parents.
Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Kirk Nolan testified during a hearing in October that Laskowski said Ian Bishop told him about the murder plot and that it was prompted by a fight he had with his mother a week earlier. Laskowski said Ian Bishop was angered after he was caught smoking in school and was forbidden from seeing his girlfriend.
Laskowski told police that he watched as Ian Bishop repeatedly struck his brother with a hammer and helped move the body to a bathtub. He said Ian Bishop handed him a club, but he did not hit Adam Bishop.
Laskowski's parents testified their son did not admit to police to having prior knowledge of Ian Bishop's plan.
They also described their son as a boy incapable of participating in a violent act. While on the witness stand, Laskowski's father, Matthew Laskowski, said his son was a "wimp," and his mother, Susan Laskowski, called him a "scaredy cat."
Those descriptions were a far cry from how Hempfield school officials and others characterized Ian Bishop during court proceedings earlier this year.
Bishop was described as a manipulative racist who targeted minorities such as blacks and gays and used illegal drugs. Laskowski was described by school officials as an emotionally struggling teenager who was openly gay.
The defense claims Laskowski was duped into being friends with Ian Bishop.
Ian Bishop also sought to have his case remanded to juvenile court, and that motion also was denied by Pezze. Last week, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court refused to hear Ian Bishop's appeal of Pezze's ruling.
No trial date for either Ian Bishop or Laskowski has been set.
Rich Cholodofsky can be reached at rcholodofsky@tribweb.com or (724) 837-0240.
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