HARRISBURG — A Carlisle man has been convicted of the 1992 murder of a witness in a case against his brother — for the third time.
According to the the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, a jury found Willie Tyler, 65, guilty of witness tampering through physical force and murder, returning with a verdict after deliberating for two hours.
According to U.S. Attorney Bruce D. Brandler, Tyler murdered a confidential informant from the Carlisle area that was scheduled to testify against his brother, David. Tyler planned the murder with four other individuals, who were also convicted for their role in the crime in previous federal and state court proceedings.
Tyler was first tried in state court in 1994. He was acquitted of the charges. The case was then adopted for federal prosecution, and Tyler was found guilty after a federal jury trial in 1996. The conviction was overturned by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, and the case was re-tried in 2000, where he was convicted again. The Third Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the 2000 conviction as well in 2013, remanding the case to the district court for a new trial.
Tuesday’s conviction marks the end of that proceeding.
“After 25 years and three federal trials, justice has been served, yet again, in the brutal murder of a witness who was cooperating with a joint drug task force,” Brandler said in a press release announcing the conviction. “Our office will not rest, no matter how long it takes, to ensure that individuals who attempt to subvert justice by silencing witnesses are held accountable for their crimes.”
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Adminstration, the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office, and Pennsylvania State and Carlisle Police.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Chelsea Schinnour, Joseph J. Terz and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Gordon A. Zubrod prosecuted the case.
