Collazo Gets Life in Prison For Werkheiser Murder
Easton woman breaks down in court after confessing to killing.
Easton woman breaks down in court after confessing to killing.
Elizabeth "Lily" Collazo broke down while pleading guilty Monday to shooting to death her ex-boyfriend, Mark Werkeiser, while he slept.
Mark Werkheiser was the baby of the family, the youngest of four children. In turn, he raised four children of his own, had a large and loving extended family, and had established his own buinsess. He lost of all that on the morning of March 15, 2012 at his home in Williams Township. And now the woman who killed him -- Elizabeth "Lily" Collazo, the mother of Werkheiser's children -- will spent the rest of her life in prison. Collazo, 43, pleaded guilty to first degree murder in Werkheiser's shooting Monday in Northampton County Court. Her trial -- at which she faced the death penalty -- had been scheduled to begin next week. Under state law, a first degree murder plea carries an automatic life sentence. "You will not be paroled. You will …
In this Article:
Elizabeth Collazo scheduled to enter guilty plea in Williams Township killing.
Prosecutor says Elizabeth Collazo is expected to admit to murder of Mark Werkheiser in court Monday.
An Easton woman is expected to plead guilty next week to the murder of the father of her four children. Elizabeth "Lily" Collazo is scheduled to admit to first-degree murder at 9 a.m. Monday in Northampton County Court, said First Assistant District Attorney Terry Houck. Collazo was charged in March with killing Mark Werkheiser, shooting him six times with his own handgun while he slept at his home in Wlliams Township. Police recorded a phone conversation between Collazo and one of her friends in which she admits to the killing. She and Werkheiser had been in the middle of a custody dispute involving their children. By pleading guilty, Collazo avoids a possible death sentence. Under state law, anyone convicted of first-degree murder …
In this Article:
Attorneys in Williams Township homicide case ask judge to step down, seek new venue for trial.
Attorneys representing a woman accused of killing her ex-boyfriend in Williams Township are asking the judge in her death penalty murder trial to step down. That's according to the Express-Times, which notes that the lawyers for Elizabeth Collazo want the death penalty removed from her case. They're also asking to have her trial rescheduled and moved to another county, and to have a new judge preside over the case. Collazo is accused of killing Mark Werkheiser, the father of her four children, at his home in Williams Township earlier this year. Her trial was due to start next month, but her lawyers want it pushed back to May. Collazo's lawyers argue trial Judge Edward Smith also handled the protection-from-abuse order Werkheiser and …
In this Article:
Judge in Williams Township murder case agrees to give defense more time to prepare.
The murder trial of Elizabeth Collazo, accused of killing the father of her four children in Williams Township, has been pushed back to next year, according to published reports. Northampton County Judge Edward Smith made that ruling Tuesday after hearing testimony that the defense needed more time to prepare mitigation experts, the Express-Times reports. The trial had been set for next month, but will now take place in January. Those experts will help defense attorneys argue that Collazo, 43, does not deserve the death penalty if she's convicted in the killing of Mark Werkheiser. Werkheiser, 38, was found shot to death in his home March 15. He and Collazo -- who was living in Easton at the time of her arrest -- had been involved in a …
In this Article:
Defense attorneys in a Williams Township capital murder case ask judge to dismiss the death penalty.
Attorneys representing a woman in a Williams Township homicide case say their client shouldn't be facing the death penalty. The Morning Call reports that lawyers for Elizabeth Collazo filed arguments Friday asking a Northampton County judge to remove the possibility of the death penalty and to dismiss burglary and theft charges. Collazo is charged with killing ex-boyfriend Mark Werkheiser as he slept in his home on Browns Drive in March. Prosecutors have said they will ask for the death penalty if she's convicted. The law requires at least one aggravating circumstance for the death penalty. In this case, prosecutors argue it's Collazo breaking into Werkheiser's home and also stealing his wallet and a rare coin. Her lawyers say there's no …
In this Article:
Judge says Williams Township murder case could go before a jury in two months.
Despite protests from her lawyer, a woman accused of killing her ex-boyfriend in Williams Township should face trial this November, according to published reports. Elizabeth Collazo, who was living in Easton at the time of her arrest, is accused of shooting Mark Werkheiser while he slept in his home March 15. According to the Morning Call, Northampton County Judge Edward Smith wants her capital murder trial to begin in November, although First Assistant Public defender James Connell called the judge's timeline "very ambitious," saying he may not be prepared by then. The county's court calendar lists the trial date at November 5. The Express-Times says Connell told the judge he and co-counsel Vanessa Nenni need more time to review evidence…
In this Article:
Attorneys for Elizabeth Collazo want access to a laptop and cellphone connected to the death of Mark Werkheiser.
Attorneys for an Easton woman accused of killing her ex-boyfriend in Williams Township last year want prosecutors to turn over her phone and computer. According to the Express-Times, lawyers for Elizabeth "Lily" Collazo have asked a Northampton County judge for access to her cell phone and laptop, items they argue are vital to their case. Collazo, 43, is accused of shooting Mark Werkheiser to death in March at his home. Police say she shot Werkheiser, 38, while he slept. In court earlier this year, prosecutors played a recording of Collazo outlining the killing in a phone conversation with a friend. Her trial -- in which she faces the death penalty -- is scheduled for November.
In this Article:
Northampton County prosecutors will ask for the death penalty in the killing of a Williams Township man.
Prosecutors in Northampton County say they will seek the death penalty against Elizabeth Collazo, the woman accused of killing Mark Werkheiser earlier this year. The Morning Call reports that prosecutors would need a first degree murder conviction against Collazo, and at least one aggravating circumstance in Werkheiser's death. First Deputy District Attorney Terrence Houck says that aggravating circumstance is that Collazo killed Werkheiser while committed another felony, breaking into his home on Browns Drive in Williams Township. The paper also says Collazo has written three letters to one of its reporters. In one of them, she wrote "I have never loved Mark more now than ever before!!" Werkheiser, who was 38 when he died, was found shot …
In this Article:
1:00 am on Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Eye for an eye they already lost both parents   more ›
Jay Bell
3:46 am on Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Well, let it be known the equal rights is honored by the courts; you have a "right" to get the same time, for the same crime, whether you're a man or a woman! A life for a life, in this case. www.firebrandcentral.com   more ›