3/4/13 - The man convicted of murdering an Oceola Township couple in 2008 is due back in court tomorrow for sentencing. 66-year-old Jerome Kowalski (left) was convicted in January on first-degree murder charges in the deaths of his brother Richard Kowalski and his wife Brenda, who were found shot to death May 1st of 2008 in their Lyngre Drive home. He is set for sentencing Tuesday at 1pm by Judge Theresa Brennan. First degree premeditated murder carries with it a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole. The three-week trial included testimony from Brendaâs son Michael Reilly, who speculated that his uncle had killed his step-father after the two had disagreed about how to handle the estate of their mother. The videotaped interrogation of Kowalski was also played for jurors, including a portion where he seemingly confesses to the crime, although he later recanted. His defense attorney, Walter Piszczatowski, unsuccessfully tried to undermine the confession with a psychological expert who testified that he evaluated Kowalski to be a depressed, passive-aggressive individual with alcohol dependence and a tendency to try and please authority. An earlier ruling by Judge Brennan barred the defense testimony of another expert on false confessions, which is likely to form at least the basis of an expected appeal of the conviction. (JK)
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