Blair County judge rejects motions in stabbing death case
Oeschle defense unsuccessful in effort to suppress evidence
Trending
HOLLIDAYSBURG -- A Blair County judge denied and dismissed five motions for relief filed by defense counsel for the city man charged in the 2023 stabbing death of 42-year-old Christopher Helsel.
President Judge Wade A. Kagarise issued an opinion on the petition for habeas corpus and four separate motions to suppress evidence in the case of Raymond Thomas Oechsle Jr., 54, who is accused of killing Helsel in April 2023 at an apartment building on the 2000 block of Eighth Avenue in Altoona.
Oechsle is facing charges of first-degree murder, second-degree murder, single felony counts of third degree-murder, robbery, criminal trespass, as well as two felony counts each of burglary and aggravated assault. He also faces single misdemeanor counts of abuse of a corpse, tampering with evidence, theft and possession of an instrument of crime with intent.
In the petition for habeas corpus, defense attorney Thomas Dickey argued that Oechsle's charges were not supported by the evidence in the prosecution's case, so Oechsle's confinement was illegal.
Kagarise dismissed this argument, writing in his opinion that "upon entry to Oechsle's first floor apartment, the police discovered a deceased person who had been stabbed about 98 times."
He stated that testimony given in prior hearings established that Oechsle was taken into custody, where he waived his Miranda rights and admitted to stabbing Helsel.
"(Oechsle) told the officers that when he pulled out the knife and started to stab Mr. Helsel that Mr. Helsel began to backpedal and retreat, but (Oechsle) continued to follow him," Kagarise wrote.
A subsequent autopsy determined Helsel's cause of death to be numerous stab wounds. Kagarise ruled that, considering these circumstances, "there is sufficient evidence" to support the prosecution's case.
Dickey had also filed separate motions to suppress involving statements Oechsle made to police on April 26, 2023; a warrantless search and seizure; warrantless seizure of two cellphones; and a May 2, 2023, search warrant.
Kagarise ultimately denied and dismissed each of these motions. In regards to the seizure of cellphones, he wrote that "this court believes the affiant established there was a fair probability" that evidence related to Helsel's murder could be found on the phones collected.
Kagarise also wrote that officers "had probable cause to enter the apartment" given the information they had at the time.
"The fact that Oechsle fled when the police were called also gives reasons to believe he would escape if not swiftly apprehended," Kagarise wrote. "The court notes as well that entry into Oechsle's apartment was peaceable, and evidence was not seized until a warrant was issued."
The Blair County District Attorney's Office also filed a response to Dickey's motion to bar the death penalty in Oechsle's case.
During a formal arraignment on Aug. 1, 2023, District Attorney Pete Weeks and First Assistant District Attorney Nichole Smith notified the court that the state would ask the jury to sentence Oechsle to death if they returned a guilty verdict for first-degree murder.
In requesting the death penalty, the DA's Office submitted three aggravated circumstances to warrant the sentence over life in prison. They wrote that Oechsle committed the killing "while in perpetration of a felony," that the "offense was committed by means of torture" and that Oechsle has a "significant history of felony convictions."
Dickey asked the court to strike the three circumstances, writing in his motion that the DA's Office lacked "sufficient support" in their arguments.
Filed on Feb. 13, Dickey wrote in his motion requesting to bar the death penalty that "discussions with the DA against seeking the death penalty have proven fruitless."
Dickey had also written that "there was no ongoing felony" when Helsel's killing occurred and that the DA's Office "produced zero evidence that (Oechsle) intended to inflict pain beyond" what came with the alleged killing.
Regarding Oechsle's criminal past, Dickey wrote that Oechsle didn't have the "requisite significant history of felony convictions" as the state Supreme Court "has held that a single felony conviction for a crime of violence will not suffice to establish the aggravating circumstance."
Dickey also filed motions asking for Oechsle to be granted access to writing materials so he could communicate with his defense attorneys; have access to the resources of a law library or other legal resources to better aid in his own defense; and be given a way to access the discovery in his case electronically as it "is the easiest, most efficient means" of allowing Oechsle access to the materials.
In their response, Weeks and Smith wrote that "counsel for Oechsle have not engaged in meaningful discussions" with them to resolve the case. They also stated that the felony perpetration aggravator was "settled law."
"Oeschle stands charged with the robbery of the (Helsel's) cellular telephone and keys and a burglary of both (Helsel's) residence and another neighbor's residence," Weeks and Smith wrote. "Notably, the robbery and burglary were effectuated by the homicide. In fact, Oechsle hand wrote a confession while incarcerated in which he details taking (Helsel's) keys and phone during the homicide."
In regards to the allegation of torture, Weeks and Smith argued that "Oechsle viciously and repeatedly stabbed (Helsel) about 100 times in both vital and non-vital areas of the body."
They argued that statements previously made by Oechsle "clearly establish that (Helsel) was alive and conscious" during the killing, which occurred "over a duration of time sufficient for Oechsle to interpret changing emotions by the decedent until he achieved terror."
"The Commonwealth asserts that Helsel's murder was unnecessarily heinous, atrocious and cruel, manifesting exceptional depravity for the reasons stated above," they wrote. "In short, what motivated Oechsle to commit murder was not simply to take a life, but the satisfaction he derived from inflicting psychological and physical pain upon his victim."
Weeks and Smith also asked for Dickey's request of providing Oechsle writing instruments be denied, saying "is no requirement or right for written communication for the preparation of trial."
"Oechsle is charged with multiple instances of making and possessing a homemade weapon within the prison," they wrote. "Accordingly, common sense dictates Oechsle should not have access to any implements including pen, pencil, and paper, that he could use to fashion a weapon."
Oechsle was convicted in May on all 13 counts against him in a separate case for stabbing two fellow inmates at the Blair County Prison in October 2023.
Mirror staff writer Rachel Foor-Musselman is at 814-946-7458.