Judge denies motions in Carbondale homicide case
Oct. 31—Prosecutors may use a Mayfield man's statements to investigators at his trial for the 2021 killing of a Carbondale woman, a Lackawanna County judge ruled.
Judge Vito Geroulo recently denied a motion by Jerry Koezeno to suppress statements he made to state police four days after the homicide.
Koezeno, 56, is expected to stand trial next month on charges of first- and third-degree murder and theft by unlawful taking in the death of Suzanne Pauswinski.
The victim was found stabbed inside her apartment at 61 Farview St. on March 29, 2021.
Investigators allege Koezeno killed the woman and then stole hundreds of dollars in cash she had stashed in her freezer, which police say he used to play gaming machines at a Carbondale bar.
State police initially questioned Koezeno after he was arrested April 2, 2021, for suspicion of DUI and possession of drug paraphernalia.
During his interview with police, Koezeno admitted knowing Pauswinski and visiting her apartment around the time of her death but denied killing her before asking for an attorney, according to court documents.
Geroulo found Koezeno's statements to police were made voluntarily. Although a blood test showed Koezeno was not intoxicated, police nonetheless had probable cause to arrest him, the judge said, citing among other things the defendant's later guilty plea to the drug paraphernalia charge.
Geroulo also denied Koezeno's motion to suppress evidence seized during the investigation, including a pair of the defendant's brown boots on which police say an analysis found the victim's blood and DNA.
Koezeno argued the police affidavit used support the issuance of the search warrants omitted important details, including the defendant's denial that he killed Pauswinski.
Geroulo found there was probable cause to issue the warrants because circumstantial evidence linked the defendant to the crime. The "missing" information would not have changed the outcome, he said.
"Most criminal defendants deny to police and the court that they committed a crime, and, in fact, they must if they intend to challenge a criminal accusation," the judge said.
In denying Koezeno's habeas corpus motion, Geroulo said the commonwealth established at the preliminary hearing there was a homicide and, while Koezeno argues no evidence links him directly to the crime, prosecutors made a prima facie case it was more likely than not the defendant committed it.
Geroulo still must rule on a motion by the prosecution to admit up to 54 crime scene and autopsy photos at the trial.
Contact the writer: dsingleton@timesshamrock.com, 570-348-9132
