Judge: Schuback to stand trial for homicide of Old Forge restaurateur Robert Baron

May 25—SCRANTON — The man accused of killing an Old Forge restaurant owner at the center of a high-profile missing person investigation will stand trial, a judge ordered Thursday.

Magisterial District Judge Terrence V. Gallagher found enough evidence exists against Justin Schuback to warrant a trial on all counts brought against him in March for the 2017 killing of Robert Baron Sr.: criminal homicide, robbery, burglary, theft and abuse of corpse.

Summarizing for the judge, Deputy District Attorney Sara Varela argued the case is circumstantial but the evidence meets its burden.

Schuback entered Ghigiarelli's restaurant, killed Baron and disposed of his remains in the woods near Pagnotti Park by driving him there in a Hyundai the restaurateur used, she said.

Lackawanna County District Attorney Mark Powell said after the hearing, "we're obviously pleased with the judge's decision."

"There's multiple key

pieces of evidence, circumstantial evidence, but strong circumstantial evidence leading to one conclusion," Powell said.

Defense attorney Bernard Brown, who is defending Schuback alongside attorney Jordan Leonard, argued prosecutors could not show Schuback stepped foot inside Ghigiarelli's the night Baron disappeared.

"We were able to see how there was certain evidence, particularly the DNA evidence, that actually excluded him from being inside (the restaurant)," Brown said after the hearing.

The hearing lasted more than four hours and included the testimony of seven people. Bearded and clad in a beige jumpsuit, Schuback sat at the defense table in a Lackawanna County courtroom largely populated by members of Baron's family, who did not comment as they left the courthouse.

Pictures of the crime scene flashed across a television screen. Yellow markers noted where in the restaurant investigators found evidence of blood, Trooper James Hitchcock testified.

"Is it fair to say there's blood throughout the restaurant?" asked Varela.

"Yes, ma'am," Hitchcock testified.

Hitchcock, who processed Ghigiarelli's after Baron's disappearance, testified he found blood in several rooms in the restaurant, as well as a tooth in a utility sink.

Attempts at a cleanup were evident, he testified.

DNA testing on both blood and tooth confirmed they belonged to the then-missing man, testified Tim Gavel, a forensic DNA scientist with the state police. More blood found in a Hyundai which Baron used also belonged to him.

Brown argued that Schuback's DNA could be excluded from a number of places sampled, including on a mop in a restaurant utility closet where investigators found Baron's tooth.

However, William Allan, of the DNA Evidence Interpretation Unit of Cybergenetics Corporation, testified a DNA sample taken from the steering wheel of the Hyundai could belong to Schuback. A DNA sample collected from the inner door panel grab handle is even more strongly associated with Schuback.

Lackawanna County Detective Sheryl Turner testified investigators reviewed Schuback's phone records and found on Jan. 24, 2017 — the day before Baron was last seen — he had searched topics related to robberies.

Under questioning by Varela, Turner said Schuback's search history included inquires on successful bank robberies and how to get away with robbery.

The disclosure prompted an objection from Schuback's defense attorneys.

Varela said the searches speak to Schuback's "state of mind."

In March, police found bones belonging to Baron in the dirt near powerlines outside Pagnotti Park in Old Forge.

They were led to that spot by cellphone tower records that measured where Schuback's device had been the night Baron disappeared. With some of Baron's bones in hand, the police prepared to arrest Schuback.

Aside from the spot where Baron was found, authorities argued the cell tower data also placed Schuback where Baron vanished: Ghigiarelli's.

Schuback's girlfriend at the time, Kortney Rake, testified Schuback had been out that night. She sent him text messages communicating her annoyance.

A few hours before dawn, Schuback crept back into the house through the window. He seemed sweaty and out of breath, she testified. His clothes — the blue jeans, gray sweatshirt and black and white sneakers he had left in — were covered in mud, she testified.

Under cross-examination by Brown, Rake testified she did not see blood on Schuback.

Schuback remains locked up at the Lackawanna County Prison without bail.

Contact the writer: jkohut@timesshamrock.com, 570-348-9100, x5187; @jkohutTT on Twitter.