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HOLLIDAYSBURG -- The death penalty trial of an Altoona man charged with smothering his former girlfriend's 16-month-old daughter has been set for the last three weeks of September, Blair County President Judge Elizabeth A. Doyle said Wednesday.
The defendant is 23-year-old Drue Scott Burd, who allegedly told police he placed his hand over the youngster's nose and mouth on May 20, 2018, in an effort to put her to sleep.
The child, Angela Elizabeth Bear Jones, became unresponsive, and first responders were summoned for a child in cardiac arrest.
The baby was taken to UPMC Altoona for treatment, and, once stabilized in the Altoona facility, was flown to UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh where she died.
Burd was charged with murder, aggravated assault, strangulation by smothering the child, endangering the welfare of a child and simple assault.
Blair County Assistant District Attorneys Derek Elensky and Jessica Weil are seeking the death penalty in the case, charging that the child suffered "torture" during Burd's assault on her.
Burd is being defended by Blair County Public Defender Russell Montgomery and Assistant Public Defender John Siford.
With the trial to begin within weeks, Doyle and the attorneys involved in the case on Wednesday held a status conference to begin several weeks of intense preparation.
Doyle expects the trial will begin on Sept. 12 and noted it will continue to at least Sept. 30.
But, as she said, there is a lot of work to be done in the meantime.
One issue of concern to the judge was what photographs are to be used in the presentation of the prosecution's case.
It was revealed that during the investigation of the child's death by Altoona police, more than 300 photographs were taken.
The judge asked the attorneys from both sides to go through the photos.
Doyle pointed out both sides may agree on some of the photos to be used as evidence.
If there are disagreements on certain photos, she will make the decision.
Also on Wednesday, the judge began hearing summaries of the testimony to be presented against Burd.
Elensky stated he intended to lead off his case by presenting Altoona Police Officer Adam Miller, the first officer to respond to the call that a child was in cardiac arrest.
The assistant district attorney then outlined what the officer would say when he takes the stand.
Doyle made sure the prosecution's "offer of proof" had been given to the defense.
She also queried whether various documents, such as the autopsy report and reports by expert witnesses, had been presented for defense inspection.
Montgomery and Siford did not indicate they were having trouble obtaining cooperation from the prosecution.
In all, Elensky covered testimony from 15 possible witnesses during the conference, which lasted for two hours.
When Elensky reported that Altoona Police Officer Nathan Snyder sought a search warrant for the home on the 900 block of 23rd Avenue, where the child's death occurred, Doyle immediately turned toward Montgomery and asked him if the defense received the warrant application.
"Yes, your honor," Montgomery responded.
At one point during the presentation of the testimony that will be produced at trial, Burd became emotional.
Sheriff's deputies gave him water and a Kleenex.
Also, when Elensky was about to reveal certain precise details of the testimony, he would ask for a sidebar, which meant the attorneys would approach the judge out of the hearing of people in the audience.
Doyle permitted the sidebar conferences, explaining that the details may be disturbing to members of the victim's family, who attended Wednesday's session.
Doyle stated she hoped to have the bulk of trial preparation completed by July 20.
She concluded by telling the attorneys that around that time she wanted to know if it was certain there would be a trial, noting that jurors would then have to be summoned.
As of Wednesday, there was no indication that the case could be resolved without a trial.