Oechsle

HOLLIDAYSBURG — The Altoona man charged in the April 2023 stabbing death of 38-year-old Christopher Helsel was convicted Thursday on all 13 counts against him in a separate case for stabbing two fellow inmates at the Blair County Prison in October 2023.

Raymond Thomas Oechsle Jr., 54, was found guilty of a felony count of attempted homicide, four felony counts of aggravated assault, two felony counts of assault by prisoner on another and two misdemeanor counts each of possession of a weapon, inmate procures a weapon and recklessly endangering another person.

The jury of seven men and five women deliberated about 30 minutes before returning their guilty verdicts. When defense attorney Robert Donaldson asked for the jury to be polled, they all confirmed that they agreed with the verdict.

Before the second day of the trial began, Donaldson told presiding President Judge Wade A. Kagarise that he went to see Oechsle at the prison Wednesday after court, but Oechsle refused to meet. Donaldson also went to the prison Thursday morning before the trial, but was again turned away, saying that a guard told him that Oechsle “definitely doesn’t want to see me today.”

Donaldson told Kagarise he had the guard deliver a letter to Oechsle, detailing the trial’s progress and why he should make an appearance.

After reviewing the letter, Kagarise contacted Oechsle at the prison through Deputy Warden Sean Edmundson. Kagarise explained to Oechsle that, since the prosecution had rested its case on Wednesday, the proceedings on Thursday were for the defense to present any evidence or testimony to the jury.

Oechsle confirmed for Kagarise that he was choosing to stay at the prison of his own volition and was not willing to be transported to the courthouse.

Kagarise then heard arguments from Donaldson and Weeks regarding Donaldson’s request to dismiss a misdemeanor count of tampering with evidence.

Donaldson said the charge stemmed from Oechsle changing his bloody clothing after being escorted back to his cell following the attack. Oechsle then attempted to hide the clothing, specifically a sweatshirt, underneath his personal belongings in a box within his cell.

Donaldson argued that Oechsle attempting to hide the sweatshirt did not constitute tampering with evidence as Oechsle’s cell could be subject to random inspections by the prison.

The sweatshirt remained in Oechsle’s cell for investigators to find “whether it was under other clothes or not,” Donaldson said.

Weeks told Kagarise that Donaldson was making a “factual argument, not a legal one.” He said Oechsle removing, folding and hiding the sweatshirt among other items constituted evidence tampering.

Kagarise ultimately sided with the defense and dismissed the single misdemeanor charge.

When the jury was brought into the courtroom, Kagarise drew their attention to Oechsle’s absence and said “to draw no adverse inference” to choosing not to attend his trial.

Donaldson chose not to present any evidence or testimony and proceeded with his closing arguments.

He told the jury that Oechsle was guilty of four of his 13 charges, specifically the two felony counts of assault by a prisoner on another for attacking Larry Lykes and John Javit and the two misdemeanor counts of possession of a weapon for the pen and toothbrush shank.

“I submit that (Oechsle) committed some very bad behavior,” Donaldson said.

He mentioned the letter that Oechsle wrote to his former neighbor, in which Oechsle discussed his intention of killing Lykens.

“There’s no doubt (Oechsle) wrote that letter, but did he mean what he wrote?” Donaldson asked rhetorically.

He described Oechsle as a “complex individual” and asked the jury to find him not guilty on the other nine charges.

Weeks delivered the prosecution’s closing arguments, telling the jury that “this is a case of accountability.”

He said the surveillance footage of the attack the jury watched Wednesday was the “best evidence” of Oechsle’s guilt.

“You see no hesitation by (Oechsle),” Weeks said. “It makes it clear how brutal and intentional the attack was.”

He explained that Oechsle was only charged with one count of attempted homicide because Oechsle decided to stop attacking Javit and pursue Lykens instead.

Weeks said if the corrections officers had not intervened, Oechsle “would have kept stabbing” Lykens.

Addressing the letter, Weeks told the jury “we know (Oechsle) meant it because he did it” and asked them to find Oechsle guilty on all counts.

Once the jury returned with their guilty verdicts and were released from duty, Weeks asked Kagarise to revoke Oechsle’s $750,000 bail pending his sentencing. He said no set of conditions or guidelines could ensure public safety.

Kagarise agreed to revoke Oechsle’s bail and scheduled him for sentencing at 10 a.m. June 12.

Outside the courtroom, Donaldson said he respected the verdict although he still believed the count of felony attempted homicide was “overcharged.”

“It was a tough set of facts,” Donaldson said. “Oechsle exercised his right to not testify, which made for a unique set of circumstances.”

Donaldson is Oechsle’s defense counsel in his three remaining cases involving the Blair County Prison and is co-counsel, alongside attorney Thomas Dickey, for Oechsle’s criminal homicide case.

When asked which cases might proceed to trial first, Donaldson said he was prepared to bring the prison cases, but the homicide case “was still snaking along” as they still needed to obtain expert reports and other documentation.

Kagarise previously declined a motion made by Weeks to combine Oechsle’s three prison cases with his homicide case and deferred his decision in joining Oechsle’s prison cases with one another.

The remaining prison cases include a 2025 case of alleged institutional vandalism and two 2024 cases alleging Oechsle procured a weapon for himself.

Oechsle was originally arrested in April 2023 after being found squatting in an Altoona apartment with the corpse of 38-year-old Christopher Helsel. Police documents state that Oechsle allegedly admitted to killing Helsel and living with his body for three days.

Mirror Staff Writer Rachel Foor-Musselman is at 814-946-7458.