Jury Trial To Get Under Way In Slaying At Italian Lake
2 men face life in prison in woman's death
The Patriot News
December 7, 2004
By Reggie Sheffield
of The Patriot News
Jury selection was completed yesterday in the case of two Harrisburg men accused of kidnapping a city woman Nov. 1, 2000, shooting her to death and then leaving her body near Italian Lake.
The body of Haydee Freytes, shot twice – once in the head, once in the hand was. found in the 200 block of Edward Street, near the northern edge of the park.
Glenn Darien Taylor, 43, of Arrow Road, and Mwandishi G. Mitchell, 31, of the 100 block of South 14th Street, are charged with murder, kidnapping and other counts.
The case remained unsolved for two years until an admitted prostitute came forward to say that she was with Mitchell and Taylor on the night of the killing.
Police spent an additional year verifying her account.
Testifying at a July 2003 preliminary hearing, the witness said the men were looking for Freytes. The witness said she was with Mitchell and Taylor that night when she invited Freytes into their car to smoke crack cocaine after encountering her on North Third Street.
The witness said Freytes came into the car and recognized Mitchell from a previous encounter and exclaimed, “Oh, my God.”
The witness said she saw Mitchell and Taylor beating the woman on the way to Italian Lake. The woman told police that she escaped the car before she heard gunshots.
If convicted of first-degree murder, Taylor and Mitchell face mandatory sentences of life in prison.
Opening statements are expected to be delivered this morning, and jurors may hear testimony later today.
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