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India could delay South Fayette teen's murder trial for year
0=20
Comments | Tribune=20
- Review / Pittsburgh Tribune - Review, Aug=20
17, 2010 | by Bill =
Vidonic
A South Fayette teenager accused of killing his mother in India could = remain=20 in custody for at least a year before facing trial, lawyers familiar = with Indian=20 law said yesterday.
Authorities arrested Joncarlo Patton, 15, on suspicion of killing his = mother=20 and placed him in a juvenile detention center, saying he tried to flee = India.=20 The body of Patton's mother, Cindy Iannarelli, 51, of Cecil was found = Thursday=20 with her throat slit at a resort in the historic town of Osian in = Rajasthan=20 state.
Under Indian law, Patton can be held in custody without being = immediately=20 charged. Jayanth K. Krishnan, a law professor at Indiana=20 University-Bloomington's Maurer School of Law, said police typically = have 90=20 days from the time of an arrest to file a formal "charge sheet" with=20 prosecutors, who then will decide whether the case should proceed to = trial.
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A chief magistrate ordered Patton to appear for a hearing, but = whether that=20 hearing occurred was unclear. Indian authorities did not return phone = calls or=20 e-mails yesterday.
According to New Delhi attorney Anurag Kumar, the hearing would be = for=20 prosecutors to argue that they have evidence to keep Patton in custody = while=20 they continue their investigation. Kumar is not involved in the = case.
In the country of nearly 1.2 billion people, according to Pittsburgh = attorney=20 Piyush Seth, the Indian court system is woefully understaffed, causing=20 significant delays in some cases.
"The United States court system is backlogged. Multiply the = population by=20 four, and decrease the amount of resources by 10," Seth said.
During questioning, Patton told police that he was traumatized by his = parents' divorce and wanted them to reconcile, police Superintendent = Girdharilal=20 Sharma said, according to the Deccan Herald newspaper in Bangalor.
Patton also told police that he had a heated argument with his mother = Thursday night and killed her, according to Sharma.
Once police finish their investigation, they could file charges, = Kumar said.=20 After that, police would have to frame, or outline, the charges against = Patton,=20 similar to a preliminary hearing in the United States.
Because he is younger than 18, Patton would have a right to a trial = before a=20 juvenile justice board, according to Indian law.
Kumar said that like in the United States, Patton is presumed = innocent until=20 proven guilty. He might be eligible for bail at some point, depending on = the=20 circumstances of the case, Kumar said.
In India, juveniles are eligible for the death penalty, he added. In = the=20 United States, defendants younger than 18 are not eligible for capital=20 punishment.
In India, death verdicts are carried out by hanging; Kumar said the = death=20 penalty is extremely rare in juvenile cases.
As family and friends awaited more information, they expressed = disbelief that=20 Patton could have harmed his mother.
"This kid does not have this in him," said family friend Terri = Berceli.=20 Patton has been a model for her agency, TB Talent, for the past two = years, she=20 said.
"He may have fought with his mother, but he is not evil," Berceli = said. "What=20 (the killer) did to her was evil, and he's not evil. He's a nice kid. I = know=20 this has to be something that went awry there, and they're using = Joncarlo as a=20 scapegoat."
A Facebook group, "Joncarlo Patton -- He's still Joncarlo and we love = him,"=20 is filled with photos and messages of support from people who know the = family.=20 It had more than 220 members yesterday, with many saying they're praying = for him=20 to return to the United States.
Sharma told The Associated Press that Iannarelli's body was being = returned to=20 the United States.
U.S. State Department spokesman Darby Holladay said consular officers = in New=20 Delhi are working with Indian authorities to investigate the case.
"Out of respect for the family, we are unable to provide further = information=20 about the case at this time," Holladay said.
Patton's father, George R. Patton, declined comment.
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