A suburban Philadelphia man has been sentenced to jail time after pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the stabbing death of a neighbor following a dispute that authorities said was over loud snoring.
Christopher Casey, 56, of Upper Morland was sentenced last week in Montgomery County Court to 11½ to 23 months in county jail followed by three years’ probation after pleading guilty to the manslaughter charge and possession of an instrument of crime.
Casey was originally charged with third-degree murder in the Jan. 14 death of 62-year-old Robert Wallace, who lived next-door in a duplex and with whom he shared a common wall. Prosecutors said Casey stabbed Wallace after the other man pushed in his first-floor window and threatened to kill him over his snoring.
Wallace was found 50 feet away from the residence suffering from a stab wound when police arrived, the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office said at the time.
“On scene, Upper Moreland police found a large military-style knife and a cellphone on the front porch of Casey’s home. In a nearby grassy area, they found a window screen that had been removed from a window by the front door,” the DA’s office said. “The window was open when police arrived. “
Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office
Authorities say Casey used the military-style knife to stab Wallace several times, and police found blood both inside and outside of the home.
Relatives of the victim said he had been unable to sleep due to the noise and his fatigue had affected his life and ability to work. Casey apologized to them in court, calling the fatal argument “unfortunate.”
Defense attorney James Lyons said his client’s life had been threatened multiple times and he was “a really good man who was not equipped to deal with this type of this sustained abuse and threats.”
