Collegeville Strangler Caleb Fairley Requests New Trial

According to the Daily Times, convicted murderer Caleb Fairley is requesting a new trial, or failing that, a new sentencing hearing for the murder of Limerick resident Lisa Marie Manderach and her 19-month-old daughter, Devon, in Collegeville in 1995.

Farley reportedly strangled Manderach and her daughter while they were shopping at his parents' "Kidz & Mine" clothing store in the Collegeville Shopping Center on Sept. 10, 1995. He was convicted of first-degree murder in April 1996 and received two consecutive life sentences.

Fairley, formerly of Upper Merion, filed the request on his own behalf without the aid of a lawyer. He is basing his request on a recent ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court finding mandatory life terms for juveniles unconstitutional. Fairley, who was 21 at the time of the murder, argued that recent appellate court findings support the idea that "a person’s biological process is typically incomplete until the person reaches his or her mid-twenties."

Prosecutors are expected to oppose the request.

Montgomery County Commissioner Bruce Castor, Jr., who served as First Assistant District Attorney at the time of the trial, declined to comment on Fairley's efforts, but spoke of his personal feelings towards the case.

"I no longer speak for the District Attorney's Office. But I will come to court and laugh when he makes the argument," Castor said in an e-mail.

Read more about the case and Fairley's request here.