The state Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to hear an appeal from Nicholas Martin, convicted in Elk County in 2015 for the brutal murder of his teenage girlfriend.
Martin, 26, currently incarcerated in the State Correctional Institution at Retreat in Luzerne County, is serving a life sentence for the March 2013 stabbing death of Alyssa Forsyth, 18. After killing her, Martin dumped her nude body in a wooded area near Ridgway.
Martin had admitted to killing Forsyth, but said he suffered a “red out,” a fit of rage which left him unaccountable for his actions, his attorney, George Daghir, argued at trial.
Yet prosecutor Laura Ditka of the state Attorney General’s office painted Martin as a remorseless, career criminal incapable of rehabilitation. At trial, she presented testimony from Martin’s friend Jessie Pino, who was with him the night before the murder, drinking alcohol and playing beer pong.
Pino’s testimony included a reference to Martin wrestling Pino to the floor and trying to lick him. Daghir objected to the testimony at trial, but Elk County President Judge Richard Masson overruled, allowing the testimony to continue.
Martin was ultimately convicted, and appealed to the state Superior Court seeking a new trial. He alleged the testimony from Pino constituted a “bad act” that caused the jury to be prejudiced against him.
However, the state Superior Court disagreed. According to the decision, evidence at trial showed Martin had threatened to kill Forsyth three days prior to the murder; admitted to stabbing her 112 times with a screwdriver and a knife; attempted to conceal the crime by using her phone to text her mother; and admitted to dumping her body in a remote area.
“Given the substantial … and uncontradicted evidence of (Martin’s) guilt, it strains reason to conclude” that a witness’ characterization of the “face licking/kissing incident” as homosexual contributed to the verdict, the decision read.
The judges concluded that a new trial was not warranted because the incident was allowed into testimony.
Martin sought to appeal that ruling to the state Supreme Court, the judges of which decide what cases to hear on appeal. Martin’s case was not litigated before the state’s highest court.
