LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. — A Lancaster County man currently serving a life sentence for murdering his pregnant girlfriend in 2011 had his conviction upheld by a recent ruling from the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, the Lancaster County District Attorney's Office announced Monday.
Matthew S. Becker, 32, was sentenced to life in prison plus 20 to 40 years after being convicted in 2013 of fatally shooting Allison Walsh in a home in Manheim in 2011.
Becker has made several attempts to appeal his conviction at the local, state, and federal levels and has been denied relief each time, according to the DA's office.
In his latest attempt, Becker sought a certificate of appealability to challenge a federal court order that denied his habeas petition after the Court of Appeals deferred to a state court's factual findings in his case, prosecutors said.
Becker and his attorney argued that information from an interview with police a few days after the shooting should not have been admissible at trial.
The Court of Appeals stated in its opinion that during an initial interview, Becker admitted he fired the handgun, but said he was only trying to clean and “play around” with it. Police advised him of his rights, which he waived before questioning, prosecutors said.
During a follow-up interview six days after the shooting, upon the release from a psychiatric hospital, Becker voluntarily returned to speak with police for a second time, according to prosecutors.
Becker agreed to let police video record the interview and police told him the second interview was prompted by discrepancies with his first statement. He was not put in handcuffs or arrested, the door to the interview room was left unlocked and officers offered him drinks, cigarettes, and breaks, prosecutors said.
Police also gave him his Miranda warnings, according to prosecutors.
Becker and his attorney argued that during this interview, he invoked his right to remain silent on two occasions.
First, when approximately one hour into the interview Becker said, “I don’t know. I have nothing more to say cause no matter what I say, youse (sic) trying to make me something I’m not.”
Investigators left the room for eight to nine minutes at this point, according to prosecutors.
Second, a little over an hour later in the interview, Becker responded to questions involving his history toward women saying, “Ok. I’m done now.” He never explicitly asked to leave the room, according to the Court of Appeals’ opinion.
Becker was arrested and charged following this second interview.
The Court of Appeals sided with the state court’s original findings that Becker came in to be interviewed voluntarily and never asked or attempted to leave, adding that the interview room had multiple exits, no lock, and two windows.
The Court of Appeals ruled that there was no obvious constitutional violation that would allow the federal court to overturn Becker’s conviction.
In making this decision, the Court of Appeals clarified the standard that federal courts should use in deciding whether a defendant should be allowed to appeal the dismissal of a federal habeas corpus action.
Pennsylvania State Police investigated the shooting, with Trooper Chad Roberts filing charges.
