Krajcir may face murder charges in Penn. without leaving prison in Ill.

Convicted killer Timothy Krajcir may be making all of his court appearances in Pennsylvania for the charges he faces in connection with the 1979 murder of Myrtle Rupp while never leaving prison in Illinois, a Berks County, Penn., district attorney said Monday.

Krajcir, currently serving an 80-year sentence for the Illinois murder of Virginia Witte and Deborah Sheppard, was charged Jan. 11 with first- and second-degree murder in Berks County for allegedly strangling Rupp, 51, to death in her South Temple, Penn., apartment.

He is scheduled to be extradited to Missouri next, where he will be tried for the 1977 murders of Brenda and Mary Parsh and Sheila Cole and the 1982 murders of Margie Call and Mildred Wallace.

That process is already underway, and Krajcir should be transported to Missouri some time as early as this week, said Lt. Scott Compton, spokesman for the Illinois State Police.

In the meantime, Berks County, Penn., District Attorney John Adams said they will do their best to arrange for Krajcir's court proceedings to take place without having to extradite him.

"We're looking into resolving this case without physically bringing him back to Pennsylvania," Adams said.

Pennsylvania state law allows for criminal proceedings to take place even if the defendant is not actually present, unless the case goes to trial, if all of the parties agree, Adams said.

Arraignment, preliminary hearing, pleadings and sentencing could all be handled without Pennsylvania having to transport and house Krajcir, providing he doesn't request a trial, Adams said.

Nothing indicated that Krajcir would request a trial, and he has so far agreed to waive his personal appearance, Adams said.

Authorities decided it would be in the best interest of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania if Krajcir was not extradited, Adams said.

Monday was spent testing video equipment at the Berks County Courthouse to ensure it was compatible with that at the Tamms Correctional Center, where Krajcir is currently incarcerated.

"We hope to proceed very shortly," Adams said.

Rupp's murder went unsolved until 2006, when Corporal William Moyer of the Pennsylvania State police began to assess the case and review all of the evidence. Forensic evidence was submitted to the DNA database, and convicted sex offender Krajcir turned up as consistent with the DNA sample obtained from the scene.

At an Illinois state prison, Moyer served a search warrant for a new sample of Krajcir's DNA, as well as fingerprints and palm prints, to be resubmitted to the Pennsylvania State police crime lab for additional testing.

Krajcir agreed to speak to Moyer about the investigation and admitted to killing Rupp on April 17, 1979, according to a probable-cause affidavit.

bdicosmo@semissourian.com

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