The Zach Witman case is the two-decade Pennsylvania prosecution of Zachary Witman, who at 15 stabbed his 13-year-old brother Gregory to death at their New Freedom home on October 2, 1998, was convicted of first-degree murder in 2003 and sentenced to life without parole, had that conviction vacated after U.S. Supreme Court rulings on juvenile sentencing and the discovery of an undisclosed plea offer, pleaded guilty to third-degree murder in 2018, and was released from state prison in May 2019.
What Happened on October 2, 1998
Just after 3 p.m., Zachary Witman called 911 from the family home in New Freedom, a small community in southern York County, to report a medical emergency.1Findlaw. Commonwealth v. Witman, Superior Court of Pennsylvania He told officers he had been sleeping upstairs, heard a thud, came down, and found his younger brother. Blood was on his hands and shirt when emergency personnel arrived.
Gregory’s body was on the laundry room floor. Blood droplets ran across the kitchen, pooled in the hallway, and marked the front door and walls. Using Luminol, investigators followed blood trails through the house and into the yard, where they dug up a small penknife and a pair of athletic gloves buried under trees.1Findlaw. Commonwealth v. Witman, Superior Court of Pennsylvania
Forensic pathologist Dr. Sara Funke later testified that Gregory had suffered 17 cuts across the throat and 65 additional stab wounds to the neck, severing the windpipe and nearly every major blood vessel down to the spine. Twenty-five defensive wounds were counted on his hands.2York Daily Record. Gregory Fought for Life Prosecutors placed the killing inside a window of roughly seven and a half minutes.3PennLive. York County Couple Struggle With Son’s Conviction
Conviction and Life Sentence
Witman’s trial took place in York County Common Pleas Court in 2003. Because of heavy pretrial publicity, jurors were brought in from Montgomery County.4York Daily Record. Jurors’ Hands He faced first-degree murder, third-degree murder, and voluntary manslaughter charges.
First Deputy District Attorney Timothy Barker built the Commonwealth’s case on forensic evidence. A central exhibit was an “arterial pulse” bloodstain on Witman’s sweatshirt sleeve, which the prosecution said proved he was facing Gregory when the carotid artery was severed. Prosecutors also pointed to shifting accounts of his whereabouts, soil on his clothing matching the ground where the knife was buried, and his use of past tense during the 911 call.4York Daily Record. Jurors’ Hands
Defense attorney David McGlaughlin argued that an unknown intruder was responsible and suggested the buried soccer gloves were a “calling card” from someone with a grudge against the family. He challenged the prosecution’s bloodstain analyst and pointed jurors to the emotion in the 911 call. He called no defense forensic experts, later saying he feared cross-examination could produce testimony that hurt his client.5York Daily Record. Zachary Witman’s Former Defense Attorney
The jury convicted him of first-degree murder. Under Pennsylvania law at the time, that carried a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.6WGAL. Convicted Killer Zachary Witman Released From Prison He was 20.
How the Conviction Was Vacated
Two U.S. Supreme Court decisions reopened Witman’s case. In 2012, Miller v. Alabama held that mandatory life-without-parole sentences for crimes committed by minors were unconstitutional. In 2016, Montgomery v. Louisiana made that ruling retroactive.7York Daily Record. Zach Witman 20th Anniversary Witman became one of more than 500 Pennsylvania juvenile lifers entitled to resentencing.
Preparing for that resentencing, his new attorney, Samuel Encarnacion, discovered something else. In 2002, the prosecution had extended a plea offer for third-degree murder carrying 15 years and 230 days to 40 years. McGlaughlin had rejected the offer without telling his client.8York Daily Record. How Zachary Witman Came to Plead Guilty Chief Deputy Prosecutor Tim Barker confirmed the failure. McGlaughlin disputed the account, saying no “serious” plea offer had been relayed and that Witman had given him “marching orders” to seek an acquittal.
On February 8, 2018, Common Pleas Judge Michael E. Bortner vacated the first-degree murder conviction and life sentence and granted a new trial based on the undisclosed offer.9York Dispatch. Zachary Witman Appeal Hearing
The 2018 Plea and Witman’s Own Account
Before a new trial could begin, the York County District Attorney’s Office extended the same terms it had offered in 2002: third-degree murder, 15 years and 230 days to 40 years. Witman accepted.
In court, he described what had happened for the first time. According to the prosecutor’s summary of his statement, he had been angry that Gregory was berating him for hanging up on Gregory’s girlfriend. He grabbed a pair of soccer goalie gloves and a small penknife, saying he intended only to scare his brother into stopping. Gregory followed him to the bottom of the stairs, where Zachary stabbed him. Gregory ran through the dining room and over a dog gate; Zachary caught him in the laundry room and killed him there. He hid the knife and gloves under a backyard tree, then called 911.10WITF. Zachary Witman Admits to Gruesome 1998 Murder Asked whether he agreed with the facts, he told the court: “Yes, I can say I killed my brother by stabbing.”8York Daily Record. How Zachary Witman Came to Plead Guilty
Judge Bortner told him: “Your case has dominated the attention of this community like I’ve never seen.”10WITF. Zachary Witman Admits to Gruesome 1998 Murder
Release and Where He Is Now
Because he had already served more than the new minimum, Witman was immediately eligible for parole. The state parole board granted release in January 2019, citing his completion of institutional programs and positive behavior.11York Dispatch. Where Is He Now? Zachary Witman Studying Criminal Justice at Columbia University He walked out of the State Correctional Institution at Smithfield on May 21, 2019, at age 36, after more than 20 years in prison.12York Daily Record. Zach Witman Released From Prison
Witman earned an associate degree in paralegal studies from Harrisburg Area Community College in December 2021, graduating with honors. He was named a scholar in Columbia University’s Justice-in-Education Initiative for the 2022–23 academic year, a program that provides formerly incarcerated students with free tuition for credit-bearing coursework, and focused there on legal philosophy.13Columbia University. JIE Scholars Overview He was later admitted to the Columbia University School of General Studies.11York Dispatch. Where Is He Now? Zachary Witman Studying Criminal Justice at Columbia University He has also worked with the Lancaster County Reentry Coalition and the Lancaster Bail Fund on criminal justice reform.
His parents, Ron and Sue Witman, spent years pushing for a new trial and maintaining their son’s innocence.3PennLive. York County Couple Struggle With Son’s Conviction After the 2018 plea, Ron Witman asked the community to “leave him and his family alone.”10WITF. Zachary Witman Admits to Gruesome 1998 Murder