Judge Rules In 2021 Fatal Beating Case In Chester County: UPDATE

CHESTER COUNTY, PA — A Chester County judge denied a request from a defense attorney to dismiss the bulk of the prosection’s evidence in the murder trial of 32-year-old LeRoy Brahm.

Brahm is accused of the Dec. 4, 2021 strangulation of his 21-year-old girlfriend, Annabel Meenan, in the couple’s East Vincent Township home.

He is in Chester County Prison without bail on first-degree murder and related charges awaiting trial. First-degree murder carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison.

A pretrial hearing is scheduled on Aug. 7.

Brahm’s lawyer, Scott McIntosh of Royersford, asked the judge to prevent the jury from hearing statements his client made to police and evidence seized with a search warrant.

Judge Alita A. Rovita on June 27 denied requests to prevent prosecutors from using evidence obtained from a search warrant and several statements made by the defendant to police about the death.

The judge also ruled that an initial statement to police when Brahm provided his passcode to a cellphone is barred from trial because the police did not read Brahm his rights to have an attorney present at that time.

Dr. Gary Collins, a forensic pathologist, testified during a preliminary hearing in March 2022 that Meenan died as a result of cardiac arrest following physical assault while intoxicated and on cocaine.

Collins said that his decision included a review of the surveillance videos.

Meenan had a blood-alcohol content of .118%, according to Collins. In Pennsylvania, an individual is considered legally impaired with a blood-alcohol content of .08%

Chester County Coroner Sophia Garcia-Jackson testified the manner of death was ruled a homicide.

The prosecution showed a video of that fatal beating that showed Brahm beating and punching the victim.