Clear & Convincing - Episode 6 - Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Ira Einhorn

Join Lisa O’Brien and Michael Carnahan on Wednesday, April 8, 2020, at 8:00 p.m. Central for Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Ira Einhorn.  On September 10, 1977, after a five year relationship marred by infidelity and emotional and physical abuse, Helen “Holly” Maddux ended the relationship and returned to the apartment she shared with Ira Einhorn to get her belongings after Einhorn threatened to destroy them.  The couple attended a showing of “Star Wars” with friends that evening.  That was the last time she was seen alive.  After Holly failed to return to New York or to contact friends or family for birthdays, Thanksgiving or Christmas, her family hired private detectives, who traveled to Philadelphia and conducted interviews with the owner, superintendent and residents of the Race Street building, as well as friends of Einhorn and Holly.  In spite of Einhorn’s refusal to cooperate, in March, 1979, the investigators presented their findings to the Philadelphia Police Department, which gave the department probable cause necessary to obtain a search warrant for the apartment.  On March 28, 1979, Holly’s body was found in a locked trunk, in a locked closet in Einhorn’s apartment.  The keys to the two locks were subsequently found hanging on a hook in the kitchen.  In January, 1981, Einhorn fled the United States to avoid trial on a first degree murder charge.  We’ll talk about the case against Einhorn, his flight to avoid prosecution, his 1997 arrest in France, the extradition process and his 2001 return to the U.S.  We’ll also discuss Einhorn’s 2002 trial, conviction, sentence and direct appeal.  Finally, we’ll talk about his unsuccessful post-conviction efforts and his death on April 3, 2020, in prison in Somerset County, Pennsylvania.