Letter from one lifer to another leads to new trial in 1996 Carrick homicide
In 1997, Scott Godesky was found guilty of killing 21- year- old Knoxville drug dealer Brian Mirenna and dismembering him before helping to bury his body parts in a shallow grave.
Godesky was sentenced to life in prison, along with co- defendant David Lehrman.
But 11 years later, in 2008, Lehrman sent Godesky a letter in prison, apologizing for pinning the crime on him.
“Dear Scott,” it began, “I am writing you this letter in hopes of correcting one of the many wrongs I have done ...”
That letter and a sworn statement by Lehrman claiming that he killed Mirenna by himself have played pivotal roles in g r a n t i n g G o d e s k y a n o t h e r chance at freedom.
In January, a new trial was ordered for Godesky on homicide, conspiracy, robbery and abuse of a corpse charges. And on Wednesday, 11 years after Lehrman’s letter, proceedings began before Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Anthony M. Mariani.
In his opening statement, Assistant District Attorney Jonathan Lusty told the jury of six men and six women that both Lehrman and Godesky were involved in the Feb. 28, 1996, shooting death of Mirenna.
According to the investigation, those three men and Todd Erfort were the last four people left at a party at Lehrman’s Carrick house that night. During the evening, which involved alcohol and drugs, Lehrman fired a shotgun and a .357 Magnum into his own walls, Mr. Lusty said.
The prosecutor told the jury that Erfort will testify that he had been upstairs in the house that night, and when he was coming down the
steps, he heard Mirenna say, “Leave me alone. I don’t have anything.”
Then there was a shotgun blast.
Erfort has said that as he turned the corner, he saw Lehrman pointing the shotgun at Mirenna, whose foot had been shot; Godesky had the .357 trained on Mirenna, Mr. Lusty said.
Erfort told police he then saw Godesky fire one shot, and then another directly into Mirenna’s head.
The three men then went into clean- up mode — wrapping Mirenna’s body and taking it to a car outside, and cutting out the carpet from the house.
Later that night, Mr. Lusty told the jury, the men took the body to Carrick Cemetery, leaving it under a pile of leaves.
They returned the next night to try to bury it, and when the ground was too frozen to dig deep enough, the prosecutor said, Lehrman and Godesky returned the night after that to cut it up.
Leaving the torso at the cemetery, they took the arms and head in one bag and the legs in another, and buried them at Moraine State Park in Butler County.
Mirenna’s body was found April 22, 1996, by a jogger.
“Those three individuals are the only three who walked out of the house that day,” Mr. Lusty said. “Memories fade. Stories are going to change over time. People have different incentives.”
When Lehrman’s story changed in 2008, the prosecutor said, it was “pretty convenient.
“Consider the circumstances why people are making certain statements. It may not be easy to discern who’s telling the truth or not. That’s your duty. Listen closely. Watch closely.”
But defense attorney Aaron Sontz told the jurors in his opening that Lehrman, who is serving his own life sentence, hasn’t gotten anything out of coming forward on Godesky’s behalf.
“Almost everything [ the prosecutor] said is going to be proven false,” he said. “Twenty- three years ago, David Lehrman murdered Brian Mirenna.”
Mr. Sontz repeated that statement three times.
“He put a .357 Magnum to Brian’s head, pulled the trigger, and he executed him.”
Then, he continued, Lehrman and Erfort conspired to pin the crime on Godesky, who was not a close member of the friends’ group.
Erfort got immunity from the prosecution at Godesky’s first trial in exchange for his testimony, the defense attorney said. Erfort was never charged.
Godesky was convicted, but a few months later, Lehrman, who had also been charged, was, too.
“Todd Erfort is a liar,” Mr. Sontz said. “Nothing that comes out of his mouth is credible in any way.”
Over the years, Godesky appealed several times with no success.
But on July 29, 2008, Lehrman wrote him a letter.
“Dear Scott, I am writing you this letter in hopes of correcting one of the many wrongs I have done. I deeply regret not doing this years ago and saving you and your family the hardship in which you lived through these past 12 years. I have no excuses and can only say that I am truly sorry. I pray that by coming forth now, you will soon have the freedom you so rightfully deserve. I have been trying to contact you for some time now, but it has been quite difficult in finding you. Now that I have, I want to make this statement to clear your name as well as my conscience. I hope and pray that this statement will give you justice and that maybe one day you will forgive me for what I’ve done.”
That letter was followed by a Sept. 19, 2008, statement by Lehrman that was attached to Godesky’s petition to federal court for a new trial:
“For the past 12 years, Scott Godesky has been incarcerated for a crime he did not commit. I am ashamed and disgusted with myself for not coming forth years ago. I have no excuses, what I did was cowardly and selfish. I can only say that at 21 years old and faced with a life sentence, I was willing to do anything with no regards for anyone else.”
Throughout the statement Lehrman gave details about what happened that night. Lehrman explained that he and Erfort thought they could pin the crime on Godesky because he had previously served time in state prison and was out on parole.
“Todd’s testimony at Scott’s trial was false, he was in the living room the entire time and saw what I did. Todd only lied to try and help me. Scott Godesky never shot Brian Mirenna, nor was he or Todd a conspirator in robbing Brian.”
Godesky continued his appeals, and following a federal court hearing in which Lehrman testified, in January he was awarded a new trial.
“The wheels of justice grind slowly,” Mr. Sontz said.
The public defender told the jurors that he believes the prosecution will try to show Godesky is guilty as an accomplice to Lehrman.
Mr. Sontz said that, on the night of the shooting, Lehrman told his client that he was going to pretend to rob Mirenna with the shotgun, and he wanted Godesky to train the pistol on Mirenna.
But after Lehrman shot Mirenna in the foot with the shotgun, Godesky just stood there — in shock, Mr. Sontz said.
“Either shoot him or give me the gun,” Lehrman told Godesky, Mr. Sontz recounted.
When Godesky didn’t move, the defense attorney continued, Lehrman ran over to him and grabbed the gun, which accidentally went off. The bullet hit Mirenna in the wrist, then traveled into his face. Then, Mr. Sontz said, Lehrman fired one shot into Mirenna’s head at close range.
Mr. Sontz told the jury they were conceding the abuse of corpse charge. But his client was not involved in any robbery or any conspiracy to rob Mirenna, he said. He told the jurors to listen to the witnesses — and to compare their testimony to what they’ve previously said. If they lie, Mr. Sontz said, the jurors should hold that against the prosecution’s case.
“Every one of them is going to lie to you — either then or now,” Mr. Sontz said.