Hopwood man convicted twice in 1987 murder wants a third trial
Breakiron jailed for nearly four decades for killing German Township bartender
File photo
Nearly four decades after Saundra Marie Martin was brutally beaten and stabbed to death in a Fayette County bar, the Hopwood man convicted twice of murdering her wants a third trial to prove his innocence.
Attorneys for Mark David Breakiron appeared in Fayette County Court of Common Pleas on Wednesday asking President Judge Steven Leskinen permission to depose key figures from the 2017 retrial when Breakiron was convicted of first-degree murder in Martin’s 1987 killing.
Breakiron, who is now 63 and serving a life sentence at SCI-Greene prison near Waynesburg, did not appear for his post-conviction relief act hearing, but four attorneys representing him lobbied the judge to allow them time to interview witnesses in a bid to get their client another trial.
“So, what’s the status?” Leskinen asked as rifled through eight or nine accordion folders stacked on the bench with files related to the decades old case.
At the heart of Breakiron’s current appeal are his claims of ineffective counsel and double jeopardy during his trial in 2017, which came nearly 30 years after his first murder conviction, which was later overturned. Bill Fletcher, a Washington, D.C.-based attorney who is leading the appeal, is arguing that the explanation to the jury that Breakiron had been jailed for 29 years between the first and second trial could have swayed their verdict.
The question is whether Breakiron’s three defense attorneys at that 2017 trial – Samuel Davis, Robert Gordon and Dianne Zerega – ever explained to their client that his confinement would be mentioned, and if he consented to it being brought up during the trial. Fletcher argued the only way to formulate a proper appeal would be by asking the trial attorneys and other witnesses to sit down for a deposition to get their recollection of what occurred, although they’ve apparently rebuffed those efforts with no subpoena requiring them to comply.
“I tend to believe Mr. Breakiron got a fair trial,” said Leskinen, who presided over that second trial. “I tend to believe that his counsel had that discussion with him (about the assertion to the jury). … I’m fairly comfortable in saying they did have that discussion.”
Martin, 24, who was a bartender at the former Shenanigan’s Lounge in German Township, was stabbed and beaten to death March 24, 1987, while she was closing the establishment. Breakiron was convicted of first-degree murder the following year and sentenced to death, but it was later overturned due to accusations of prosecutorial misconduct following a protracted legal battle. He was eventually granted a new trial in 2017 and again convicted of first-degree murder, although this time he was sentenced to life in prison.
Fletcher appeared to want Leskinen to compel certain witnesses to come forward and testify in court to give the defense a clearer picture of what occurred in that 2017 trial. Leskinen called that a “fishing” expedition, and instead wanted the attorneys to interview or depose the witnesses privately before coming back to court at a later date.
“We don’t use the courts to go fishing,” Leskinen told Fletcher.
Deputy Attorney General Greg Simatic, who wants the appeal dismissed, appeared open to the interview process because he thought it would be “beneficial” in the long run to have a “factual record” of what occurred during the second trial.
“This case has been up and down so many times, I’m going to give it some thought,” Leskinen said.
However, by the conclusion of Wednesday’s hearing, he agreed to reconvene by the end of May to see if the defense had a chance to interview its key witnesses to determine whether they have a viable pathway to securing a third trial.
The state Superior Court rejected a previous appeal by Breakiron in 2019.