$8.2 million settlement in wrongful conviction lawsuit from Kevin Siehl murder case
Nov. 21—EBENSBURG, Pa. — An $8.2 million settlement was confirmed Monday in the wrongful conviction lawsuit filed by a Johnstown native released by court order after spending 25 years in prison on a murder conviction.
Jonathan Feinberg, of Philadelphia, announced late Monday morning that an $8.2 million settlement has been reached on behalf of the estate of Kevin Siehl.
On Thursday, the Cambria County commissioners authorized paying the county's portion of the settlement — which was $600,000 in county and insurance funds.
Siehl was arrested in 1991 — and later convicted — after his estranged wife, Christine Siehl, was found stabbed to death inside her apartment's bathroom in Johnstown's Moxham section on July 14, 1991. Police said she was stabbed more than 20 times and left in a bathtub with the water running in an effort to wash away evidence.
In 2016, Siehl was granted a new trial by a judge who ruled that prosecutors and defense attorneys withheld information and did not pursue further testing of key pieces of evidence during trial. He was then released after the state attorney general's office opted not to further pursue the charges.
In 2018, Feinberg, filed a federal civil lawsuit against the city of Johnstown; Cambria County; former District Attorney and current Judge David Tulowitzki; former Assistant District Attorney Daniel Lovette; state police Trooper Merrill Brant; state police Trooper and forensic scientist supervisor Scott Ermlick; and former Johnstown police officers Angelo Cancelliere and Lawrence Wagner.
Due to confidentiality agreements, the full breakdown of what each entity paid into the agreement was not disclosed.
Wagner and Cancelliere were individually dismissed from the case last week, which means they were not responsible to pay part of the settlement.
Check back for additional information on this developing story.
