No Death Penalty In Montco Murder Case

POTTSTOWN, PA — The death penalty is off the table as Montgomery County prosecutors said they would not seek capital punishment against a 20-year-old Philadelphia man accused of fatally stabbing his ex-lover in the man's Pottstown apartment three years ago and then dumping the victim's body in Northwest Philadelphia.

The announcement was made during a formal arraignment in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court Wednesday for Keshaun Sheffield, who is accused of killing 22-year-old Rashid Young in August 19 in western Montgomery County, and then driving to the city to dispose of Young's corpse at the Awbury Arboretum in the city's Germantown section.

Prosecutors allege that Sheffield used a Pottstown Borough recycling container to transport Young's body.

Court records show that Sheffield had his formal arraignment on Wednesday before Montgomery County Common Pleas Court Judge William R. Carpenter.

Patch reached out to the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office, which confirmed that Sheffield entered not guilty pleas during the proceeding.

The DA's Office also confirmed that prosecutors would not be seeking the death penalty in the case.

Sheffield faces first-degree murder, third-degree murder and related charges.

The case had some bizarre twists, as prosecutors allege that Sheffield was also stealing from a trust fund that was created for Young after Young won a court settlement in a separate matter.

The DAs Office has alleged that Sheffield was stealing money from the $2 million account, and that he was also pretending to be Young for a time after the man had already died, messaging with Young's family and taking on the deceased man's persona.

More about the case can be learned through the link below.

Related: Man Accused Of Killing, Burying Boyfriend At Arboretum Held For Trial

Court records show that Sheffield is being represented by court-appointed lawyer Marni Jo Snyder of Philadelphia.

The case is being prosecuted by Montgomery County Assistant District Attorneys Thomas McGoldrick and Gabrielle Christine Hughes.

While the death penalty has been taken off the table in this case, death penalty cases in Pennsylvania remain in somewhat of a grey area.

While the death penalty is still technically on the books in the commonwealth, there has been a moratorium on the practice since Gov. Tom Wolf took office nearly eight years ago.

With Wolf soon to end his second and final term, the fate of capital punishment in the Keystone State remained unclear.

The last person put to death in Pennsylvania was infamous South Philadelphia torture-killer Gary Heidnik in the summer of 1999.