Judge Upholds Researcher's Conviction In Wife's Poisoning

PITTSBURGH (AP) - A judge has upheld a jury's verdict that a former western Pennsylvania medical researcher purposely killed his neurologist wife by cyanide poisoning.

Sixty-seven-year-old Robert Ferrante has been serving life in prison since an Allegheny County jury convicted him in November 2014 in the April 2013 death of 41-year-old Dr. Autumn Klein.

Ferrante's attorney, Chris Eyster argued that prosecutors didn't have sufficient probable cause for search warrants used to obtain some evidence, and argued there were problems with a lab that confirmed the poison in Klein's body, among other arguments.

Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey Manning rejected those arguments in a 45-page opinion first reported Tuesday by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Prosecutors say Ferrante killed Klein by lacing an energy drink with cyanide and giving it to her under the guise of promoting fertility.

Join The Conversation On The KDKA Facebook Page
Stay Up To Date, Follow KDKA On Twitter