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Oechsle

HOLLIDAYSBURG – The Altoona man accused of killing his neighbor, stabbing two fellow inmates and possessing weapons in the Blair County Jail could face trial in 2025 unless attorneys reach a deal to address the pending criminal charges against Raymond Thomas Oechsle Jr.

“It seems like they are ready to take the death penalty off the table,” defense attorney Robert Donaldson said Wednesday outside the courtroom where Presiding Judge Wade A. Kagarise had called a status conference on Oechsle's cases.

Neither First Assistant District Attorney Nichole Smith nor her second defense attorney, Thomas M. Dickey, mentioned the abolition of the death penalty when asked whether Oechsle's cases could be resolved with a confession.

If the death penalty is abolished during the plea negotiations, it will be up to Oechsle whether he wants to plead for a recommended sentence or go to trial.

In court on Wednesday, Kagarise said he wanted to decide on pending pre-trial issues and begin looking for trial dates.

Smith suggested considering dates in late 2025 to allow sufficient time for review of pre-trial decisions as well as expected expert reports and any related motions.

One of the motions pending before Kagarise's trial seeks to suppress the use of Oechsle's statement to the Altoona Police Department.

In that statement, Oechsle spoke of problems with his neighbor Christopher A. Helsel and accused Helsel of kicking him in their apartment building at 2003 Eighth Avenue. Oechsle said this prompted him to pull out a knife and stab Helsel in self-defense.

According to the charges, which include first-, second- and third-degree premeditated murder, Helsel had 98 stab wounds on his body, including one above his heart and one in each eye.

During a court hearing on June 5, Dickey questioned an investigating police officer about Oechsle's sobriety at the time of the statement, pointing out that Oechsle had admitted to being an alcoholic and drinking regularly to avoid withdrawal symptoms. The officer described Oechsle in his response as clear-thinking and cooperative.

Oechsle, who was present in the courtroom for the status meeting on Wednesday, cooperated with both Donaldson and Dickey and assured Kagarise that he wanted to keep Donaldson as one of his appointed defense attorneys.

Before the June hearing, Oechsle had argued with Donaldson and informed the court in writing that he no longer wanted Donaldson as his attorney. Donaldson, who subsequently filed a resignation, informed Kagarise on Wednesday that he would continue to represent Oechsle.

In addition to pursuing the death penalty in Oechsle's murder case, should that option be pursued, Donaldson is also representing Oechsle in three other criminal cases that developed in the county jail.

The most serious of these three cases occurred nearly a year ago, when Oechsle was accused of stabbing two inmates and blinding one of them, charges that included attempted murder and assault by a prisoner.

In February, Oechsle was charged again after a knife was found in his cell. In March, a search of his cell revealed a homemade device that resembled a garrote wire used in strangulation. In these cases, Oechsle is accused of possessing tools used in the crime.

Reach Mirror editor Kay Stephens at 814-946-7456.