Convicted child killer Nathan Shaw is not finished with court appearances, as Monday, jury selection began for his upcoming September trial for an attack on a county prison guard.
The 27-year-old former Tyrone resident, who was convicted in January of the first-degree murder of six-year-old Tyrone boy Jared Klein and later sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, will face more criminal charges after being accused of beating Blair County Prison corrections officer Robert Miller while in jail awaiting trial for the Klein killing. Shaw was held at the Blair County lock up for a period of time after being arrested for Klein’s murder.
Shaw faces three counts of aggravated assault, a charge of assault by a prisoner, endangering another person, simple assault and harassment.
Blair County District Attorney Richard Consiglio, who pushed hard for the death penalty in Shaw’s murder trial, said he wants to ensure that Shaw remains in jail for the rest of his life. That’s why, he explained, he’s pursuing assault charges against Shaw in the Miller beating. The DA also said he doesn’t want the attack of a corrections officer to go unpunished.
The new trial is scheduled to begin Sept. 13.
In an effort to keep the jury from becoming “tainted,” potential jurors were not informed that Shaw was a convicted child murderer. This was directed by Blair County Judge Hiram Carpenter. The judge went on to instruct potential jurors to avoid media coverage of the case.
Defense attorney Theodore Krol hinted Monday that his client may attempt to prove he acted in “self defense” during the incident involving Miller. While he did not confirm that this would be the defense he would present, he noted that “if an individual reacts in self-defense, he would not be guilty of assault.”
Krol added that if there was no intent to harm another individual, a defendant could not be found guilty of assault.
Judge Carpenter denied a defense motion for a change of venue.
Shaw was found guilty of the murder of Klein and was subsequently sentenced to life without parole. He was also convicted for the rape of Klein’s mother, Christina Muoio, which occurred the same night of the boy’s murder.
