Suspect to Stand Trial for Homicide, Family Relieved

Family and friends of —clad in T-shirts bearing her name and the phrase 'Forever Young, Young Forever'—burst into applause Wednesday afternoon when a judge declared that her ex-boyfriend, Jordan Clemons, would stand trial for her .

Kunco's father called Clemons, 22, of Canonsburg, “scum” after the hearing—and called the preliminary hearing a first step to justice.

During the more than two-hour hearing before Judge Joshua Kanalis, one of Clemons’ friends, Randy Taylor, said that the defendant had been staying with him and his girlfriend in Carrick on Jan. 11, when he took off with the man’s cell phone.

It was early the next day when Taylor testified that he was able to get in contact with Clemons, who was distraught and threatening to kill himself.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, she’s dead,” Taylor testified that Clemons said on the phone.

That’s when he and his girlfriend, Samantha Rush, told him that they would come and get him—and when he directed them to Gladden Road in Cecil Township, where Kunco’s car was later recovered by police.

Taylor said that Clemons didn’t mention the statement again, nor did he share with him why he needed to be picked up.

Asked what Clemons’ demeanor was when he climbed into the backseat of her car, Rush responded: “He didn’t appear to be distraught. He appeared to be fine.”

A testified that the car was still in drive, not park, when police responded to the vehicle crash, and a state trooper said that blood was found throughout the car—even soaked into the foam seats and pooling underneath in the backseat.

And that wasn’t all: Several pieces of bloody clothing were also discovered, including a pair of black-and-white panties.

Washington County Coroner Tim Warco also testified about the state of Kunco’s body when it was discovered Jan. 12 off Sabo Road in Mt. Pleasant Township.

He told the court that the young woman was found naked, lying under a pile of partially burned leaves and a tree stump, “face looking at the sky.”

Although her throat was slashed, he said no blood was found near the body.

Two small puncture marks were observed on her chest, as well as some contusions and abrasions—although no defensive wounds were noted on her hands or arms.

While neither Rush and Taylor nor a convenience store clerk who testified could recall seeing injuries to Clemons’ hands or blood on his clothes or shoes, a state trooper indicated that he did.

And he said a “presumptive” forensic test indicated that blood that was “more than a fleck and more than a drop” was found on the toe of Clemons’ shoe.

Clemons’ attorney asked that all charges in the matter be dropped, telling the judge that the prosecution was only able to present circumstantial evidence in the case.

But Washington County Assistant District Attorney Mike Lucas disagreed, saying it was “overwhelming” circumstantial evidence.

As family and friends exited the courtroom minutes later, there was a ruckus as they screamed at court staff about Clemons being able to speak with his family after the hearing.

This article first appeared on Canon-McMillan Patch.