For the family of Suzy and Sarah Wolfe, it wasn’t about whether Allen Wade was sentenced to die by lethal injection.
It was about ensuring that he was locked away forever.
“This is a person who has a total disregard for human life,” said a sister, Christy Wolfe. “Our only desire was that the defendant not be on the streets. Anymore ever. We as a society recognize that there’s a certain social contract that we all abide by and having the defendant in prison for the rest of his life. We know that he, as an individual, will not have the opportunity to do this to two other women and another family.”
“He is in prison, and he is marked as a murderer of two women,” added brother Kevin Wolfe. “We’re satisfied.”
Members of the Wolfe family spoke Thursday after Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Edward J. Borkowski declared a hung jury in the penalty phase of the case against Wade, who was found guilty Monday of two counts of first-degree murder in the Wolfe sisters’ deaths in 2014 in their East Liberty home.
The panel of seven women and five men then deliberated the sentence for about eight hours over two days, trying to decide whether Wade should go to death row. Just before noon Thursday, Juror No. 7, the foreman, sent a note to the court, declaring the panel deadlocked.
“It doesn’t look like we’re going to be able to move one way or the other,” it said.
Attorneys in the case were brought into the courtroom to read the note before Wade or the jurors returned. After defense attorneys Lisa Middleman and Lisa Phillips read it, they hugged each other, shedding tears. They then told Wade’s mother, Vivian Wade, who embraced each of them in the hallway. Ms. Middleman and Ms. Phillips gave the news to a shackled Wade as he was escorted into the courtroom by sheriff’s deputies. He later shook hands with them at the defense counsel table.
As the judge formally sentenced Wade to consecutive life prison terms, at least one juror cried. There was little reaction from family members on either side.
After they were released, most jurors did not want to talk extensively, but one offered, “Prayers for the Wolfe family,” while the foreman said he felt that a weight had been lifted and that he was happy to be returning to his family.
Reached later by phone, Juror No. 4, Gwendolyn Kerr, said the group was split, 9-3, in favor of death. But to give a capital sentence, the jury must be unanimous.
“One juror was apparently opposed to the death penalty, and that pretty much sealed the deal,” Ms. Kerr said. “There was no way you were ever going to sway the one person, so continuing was pointless.”
Ms. Kerr said she saw no mitigating evidence for Wade.
“He had a fine upbringing. He had a lot of love from his family,” she said. “There was no excuse for it.”
As Wade’s relatives, several of whom sat through the entire trial, filed out of the courtroom, his great aunt, Jeanette Howard, offered apologies to the Wolfe family through tears.
“We’re sorry,” she said. “We’re so sorry.”
The Wolfe family appreciated the gesture.
“They seem to be kind people,” Christy Wolfe said. “They seem very nice. They seem very generous to their view of our family.”
The Wade family did not speak after the sentencing. Ms. Middleman and Ms. Phillips, who work in the Allegheny County Public Defender’s office, were not allowed to address reporters. Wade, 45, also did not speak but indicated to the court that he would appeal.
He was found guilty of killing Suzy, 44, and Sarah, 38, on Feb. 6, 2014. Their bodies were found the next day in the basement of their home on Chislett Street. Wade was arrested about a month later — connected to the crime through a trail of clothing, DNA and video surveillance throughout the East Liberty neighborhood.
Wade struck Suzy repeatedly in the head before, police said, he dragged her into the basement, leaving her nude by the washer and dryer. Sarah, a psychiatrist, returned home later, police said, and was shot in the back of the head and also left in the basement. She was fully clothed.
Ms. Kerr said for some jurors — including her — the DNA evidence was overwhelming. But it was the black sleeve with what appeared to be white bleach stains on it, visible in a bank ATM video where the killer used the Wolfe sisters’ ATM cards and again in a gas station video where Wade’s face was clear, that convinced her.
“That was it,” she said.
Ms. Kerr said jurors were respectful and conscientious throughout their deliberations.
The Wolfe family noticed.
“We cannot stress enough how grateful we are for the jury,” Christy Wolfe said. “They clearly put time and attention to this, and that just shows the respect they have for the process, the system and for Pittsburgh.”
On Wednesday, Christy Wolfe took her niece to Love Front Porch in Homewood, a communal space for art and children. She said it is the kind of place to which her sisters were devoted. After their deaths, the family created an organization, the Susan and Sarah Wolfe Memorial Fund, to raise money for causes they supported. Love Front Porch is one. They also have donated money to an animal rescue center, Love Takes Root in Haiti, and the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.
Information on the fund can be found at susanandsarahwolfe.com
“We’ve really worked hard to not focus on my sisters’ deaths, but on their lives,” she said.
The trial “was something we needed to get taken care of in order to move on from this. But it’s not consolation or closure. It’s just this part is done now.”
Paula Reed Ward: pward@post-gazette.com, 412-263-2620 or on Twitter: @PaulaReedWard.
First Published: May 26, 2016, 4:50 p.m.
Updated: May 26, 2016, 6:29 p.m.
