Pa. Lawmaker Held for Trial in Cold Case Murder

The case involving a Bridgewater councilman charged in the 1979 homicide of a Monaca woman will proceed to trial, a Beaver County judge ruled Thursday.

Gregory Scott Hopkins, 66, was arrested Jan. 29 and charged in the death of Catherine Janet Walsh, 23. He has been lodged since then in the Beaver County Jail and was denied bail at a Feb. 3 hearing.

His preliminary hearing, originally scheduled for a small courtroom in the Beaver County Courthouse, was moved to a larger room to accommodate the approximately 50 people who attended, including family members of Mr. Hopkins and Ms. Walsh.

Mr. Hopkins, wearing handcuffs and shackles around his ankles, sat dispassionately through the 90-minute hearing, as those gathered in the courtroom heard testimony from Peter J. Caltury, Ms. Walsh's 90-year-old father, and Richard Matas, a retired state police trooper who was among the first to respond to the scene.

Much of the hearing, especially questioning and statements by James Ross, the Ambridge lawyer representing Mr. Hopkins, centered on the issue that resulted in Mr. Hopkins' arrest -- DNA evidence.

Mr. Caltury received a call on Sept. 1, 1979, that his daughter -- known as Janet by her family -- had not reported to work. He and his wife, who is no longer living, went to her apartment and saw their daughter on the bed, facedown, with a handkerchief tied around her neck. When Mr. Caltury pulled a sheet off her body, he saw that her wrists were bound and her nightgown was pulled up to her waist. She had no pulse.

Mr. Caltury and Mr. Matas said the house was clean and there was no sign of a struggle. There were no visible stains on the bed or on her nightgown, Mr. Matas said.

Ms. Walsh, who was separated from her husband, lived alone. Mr. Hopkins, who said his sexual relationship with Ms. Walsh had ended earlier that summer, was interviewed and told police he had spent the early hours of Sept. 1 with friends, preparing for a pig roast. Another man supported his alibi, Mr. Matas said.

The case went cold for more than 30 years until January, when a state police analysis matched a DNA sample taken from Mr. Hopkins with sperm found on the back of Ms. Walsh's nightgown and on the rope -- described as a bathrobe cord -- tied around her wrists.

At the hearing Thursday, Mr. Ross said his client entered a plea of not guilty to the charges. Given that Mr. Hopkins had previously had a sexual relationship with Ms. Walsh, Mr. Ross called it a "quantum leap" to say that the presence of his DNA meant he was responsible for her death. He also questioned if anyone knew how often Ms. Walsh had washed her clothing and bedsheets.

"It is not an earth-shattering announcement that his DNA is there," Mr. Ross said. "It should be there."

Yet oral and vaginal swabs performed on Ms. Walsh after her death yielded no DNA match with Mr. Hopkins, Mr. Ross said. Frank Martocci, assistant county district attorney, said Ms. Walsh's DNA profile was the only other one identified at the scene.

At the conclusion of the 90-minute hearing, Judge Joseph Schafer ruled that the case would continue to trial. A date was not immediately set.

A woman walking next to Karen Hopkins, Mr. Hopkins' wife since 2001, said they would not comment following the hearing. Mr. Caltury said he was "very happy, very happy" with the outcome.

Mr. Ross called Mr. Hopkins, the owner of a Beaver County construction and snow removal service, a "reputable businessman."

It's not clear whether Mr. Hopkins remains a Bridgewater councilman, but he is still listed as one on the borough website.

McClatchy-Tribune News Service

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