A Lancaster Township man who killed his wife with more than 80 stab wounds asked a Pennsylvania Court to review his conviction as a case of self-defense.
The state Superior Court recently dismissed that claim, meaning Carrington Joseph’s life sentence for first-degree murder will stand.
Melissa Joseph, a mother of five, was killed inside her Sterling Place home on May 2, 2014, with her two infant children present.
A Lancaster County judge convicted Carrington Joseph in November, when Joseph claimed the killing was in self-defense during a heated argument with his wife.
Carrington Joseph argued the same in a request to the state court for relief.
In upholding the conviction, the Superior Court notes that Carrington Joseph didn’t have a single stab wound and he retrieved multiple knives during the attack, as some of them broke during the killing.
Also, the state court notes, Joseph threatened to stab other women who tried to rescue Melissa from the home as Melissa was in a doorway.
Carrington Joseph then dragged his wife back inside the home “to continue his savagery,” the opinion states.
The attack was carried out with deliberate thought and action, the court continues.
Assistant District Attorney Travis S. Anderson, in response to Carrington Joseph’s request, wrote the attack was clearly a case of first-degree murder, as it took time and repeated attacks.
MEDIA CONTACT: Brett A. Hambright, 717-295-2041; bhambright@co.lancaster.pa.us; Twitter: @BrettHambright