Disputed bite mark could free man from prison after decades
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
A Pittsburgh man who has spent nearly three decades in prison on rape charges may be released this week after a bite mark used as evidence against him was discredited by the dentists who originally testified against him.
John Kunco, 52, was convicted in 1991 of raping and torturing a 55-year-old woman at an apartment building in Westmoreland County where he had been a maintenance worker. He was sentenced to 45 to 90 years in prison.
But Kunco’s conviction was largely based on a bite mark on the back of the victim’s left shoulder — evidence no longer accepted to identify suspects. Additionally, DNA taken from blood left on a blanket at the crime scene proves that Kunco did not commit the assault, according to the Innocence Project, an organization that investigates possible wrongful convictions.
Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Chris Feliciani on Wednesday is expected to rule on a motion by the Innocence Project asking that Kunco be released from prison. Wendy Williams, an attorney representing Kunco, said Tuesday that she would not comment until after the ruling.
Prosecutors said Kunco attacked a woman over several hours on the night of Dec. 17, 1990. But Kunco maintained that he was at home with his girlfriend and infant at the time.
Two forensic dentists, Michael Sobel and Thomas David, examined the bite mark left on the woman five months after the rape and said they had “reasonable dental certainty” that it belonged to Kunco.
In 2016, the two dentists filed an affidavit — prompted by revised guidelines from the American Board of Forensic Odontologists — that said that “while our testimony in Mr. Kunco’s trial was consistent with the scientific understanding at the time, we no longer offer the bite mark linkage opinions that we offered in 1991, that Mr.Kunco was the biter.”
During the investigation, authorities asked the victim — who was blindfolded during the rape in addition to being partially blind — to make a voice identification of her attacker.
A police officer, who never met or spoke with Kunco, imitated Kunco’s voice, including his distinctive lisp, according to the Innocence Project. The woman said the voice was Kunco’s.
The Innocence Project in 2009 obtained the blanket with blood that did not match Kunco’s DNA. But the court only looked at the DNA evidence after the two dentists testified about the bite mark, the Innocence Project said.
Because of the new evidence, the Innocence Project asked the court to vacate Kunco’s conviction and release him from prison. Judge Feliciani is expected to announce his decision at 1:30 p.m. at the Westmoreland County Courthouse in Greensburg.