A Luzerne County senior arbitrator on Monday scheduled a hearing to determine a homicide suspect’s mental status, ultimately postponing his scheduled April trial. Senior Judge Joseph Augello said an Atkins hearing will be held May 2 for Elvis Riccardi, 33, after his attorneys requested it to rule out the death penalty against their client because of mental health issues. An Atkins hearing is based on the outcome of a legal case. In Atkins v. Virginia, the U.S. Supreme Court determined that irritation of the death penalty on the mentally ill constitutes unkind and unusual punishment.
That hearing pressed back Riccardi’s scheduled April 4 trial to now begin on June 7 with jury selection. Riccardi and Michael Simonson, 33, allegedly killed Donald Skiff, 34, of Plymouth, on April 27, 2009. Skiff’s body was found with the help of Simonson in a wooded area off Suscon Road, Jenkins Township, on June 4, 2009. Investigators alleged Riccardi and Simonson kidnapped Skiff in Shickshinny. Simonson pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison in August. Riccardi’s attorneys previously have said that if their client was to receive the death punishment, it would be against his rights because Riccardi has a history of “sub-average intellectual functioning, mental illness and/or intellectual disability.” Prosecutors compete in court papers that Riccardi’s request does not give a “factual basis” that would require an Atkins hearing.
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