Bucks Murderer's Death Sentence Reaffirmed; Retrial Denied: DA

A convicted Bucks County murderer has had his appeal for a third trial rejected, the District Attorney's Office announced Thursday.

Richard Laird, 52, was convicted in the 1987 killing of Anthony Milano, 26, just months after the incident, the DA said.

Laird and an accomplice, Frank Chester, were at the Edgley Inn in Bristol Township when they began taunting Milano, an aspiring artist, calling him a homosexual, authorities said.

The three left the bar together in a car. Shortly thereafter, Laird and Chester pulled the car over, beat Milano, and slashed his knife with a box cutter, killing him, the DA said.

Chester is serving life in prison. Laird was sentenced to death, but appealed and was given a second trial, where he was again sentenced to death. He now attempted to earn a third trial, which a federal judge has rejected, on the grounds that his rights were violated during the trial, the DA said.

“The Commonwealth is pleased that Richard Laird’s federal appeal was denied by the District Court,” said First Assistant District Attorney Michelle Henry, who successfully prosecuted Laird at his 2007 retrial. “The death penalty is appropriately reserved for only the most heinous murders and the cold-blooded criminals who commit them. Richard Laird has twice been found by separate juries to be deserving of this ultimate punishment, which makes the court’s decision very gratifying.”

Milano was an aspiring artist at the time of his death.

Patch file photo.