Mitros murder trial delayed again

Friday was supposed to be the day that Gregory Mitros, the Manayunk man accused of killing his wife in their Markle Street home last year, learned the day his case would be heard before a Municipal Court judge.

However, before the non-jury “degree of guilty” hearing could be scheduled before Judge Jeffrey P. Minehart, Mitros learned of yet another delay.

As things stand, the 52-year-old Manayunk man will learn when the hearing is scheduled on Nov. 1.

From there, Minehart will hear arguments from the prosecution and defense before deciding whether Mitros is guilty of the third-degree murder charge he faces in connection with the June 20, 2011 death of his wife Lynda Karlin-Mitros.

  • WHYY thanks our sponsors — become a WHYY sponsor

“It’s really weighing on him,” said Joe Genovese, Mitros’ brother-in-law. “He gets anxious, upset every time the day approaches and then he finds out it’s been delayed again. He just wants to go back to work.”

Friday’s delay was called after the assistant district attorney was unable to make it to the courthouse because of a family emergency, Genovese said.

The back story

Minutes after Mitros called 911 that June night, police responded to the 100 block of Markle Street to find Lynda’s body at the bottom of the steps in their home. In that phone call to police, Gregory said “I shot my wife.”

In a Nov. 2011 NewsWorks article, Mitros explained how he tried to grab the gun from Lynda’s hand after he noticed her carrying it down the steps inside their home.

“When I grabbed it with one hand, her other hand came up. We both had two hands on it, struggling when, boom, it just happened,” he said.

Mitros told NewsWorks that he, along with neighbors and family members, had concerns that Lynda might kill herself before the June incident.

Friends and family were able to raise the $15,000 in bail money necessary to release him under the conditions that he remove all weapons from the house in addition to refraining from going to bars and using any potential life-insurance money for collateral.

WHYY is your source for fact-based, in-depth journalism and information. As a nonprofit organization, we rely on financial support from readers like you. Please give today.

Want a digest of WHYY’s programs, events & stories? Sign up for our weekly newsletter.

Together we can reach 100% of WHYY’s fiscal year goal