HOLLIDAYSBURG, Pa. —Prosecutors in Blair County will be able to seek the death penalty against Nicholas Horner.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court denied the defense petition for emergency relief and lifted the stay of the criminal trial.
Authorities said Horner robbed the Subway on 58th Street in Altoona in April 2009, when he shot and killed a 19-year-old employee, injured another worker and fatally shot a 64-year-old bystander as he fled the crime scene.
Following a closed-door meeting inside the Blair County Courthouse, defense attorney Tom Dickey told 6News that he will still tell the jury about Horner’s struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder after three tours of duty in Iraq, as well as expert opinion that he had suffered delirium at the time of the crime.
“We’re going to be asking for not guilty by reason of legal insanity. We’ll be asking for that instruction during the trial. Whether (the judge) gives it or not, that will be her decision,” said Dickey. “They really didn’t say anything. They just basically said the trial is back on. They didn’t say she was right in her ruling. It’s a very technical process.”
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