Judge denies teen’s motion
In this photo taken May 14, 2015, Jamie Silvonek, 14, is escorted to court for a preliminary hearing in Allentown, Pa. Silvonek, accused of plotting with her boyfriend 21-year-old Army Spc. Caleb Barnes via text to kill her mother, pleaded guilty Thursday, Feb. 11, 2016, in a deal with prosecutors. As part of the deal, Silvonek pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, criminal conspiracy, abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence. She will be eligible for parole after serving 35 years. (Bill Adams/The Express-Times via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT
Lehigh County Court of Common Pleas Judge Maria L. Dantos on Monday rejected the motion for recusal made by attorneys for a teen sentenced to life in the killing of her mother.
Jamie Silvonek’s new legal team pushed to transfer her case to juvenile court and overturn her guilty plea.
Silvonek was 14 when she was charged as an adult with first-degree murder and sentenced to 35 years to life when she pleaded guilty in the killing of her mother, Cheryl Silvonek, in March 2015.
Co-defendant Caleb Barnes of El Paso, Texas, a soldier at Fort Meade, Maryland, was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without parole in the brutal slaying of his girlfriend’s mother.
Silvonek testified at Barnes’ trial that she plotted the murder and urged her boyfriend, via a series of texts, to carry it out. Authorities said Barnes stabbed Cheryl Silvonek, a Jim Thorpe native, in her car in the family’s driveway after she drove Jamie Silvonek and Barnes to a concert.
An affidavit of probable cause says Barnes and Jamie Silvonek buried her mother’s body at 5:55 a.m. March 15 in the 5700 block of Haasadahl Road, South Whitehall Township.
Silvonek’s new attorneys Tracy Quinn and senior attorney Karen Lindell from the Juvenile Law Center in Philadelphia were seeking a trial under the Petition for Habeas Corpus and Post-Conviction Relief Act Petition Motion for Recusal.
Quinn alleges Silvonek’s former attorney John Waldron was ineffective.
This legal team says Silvonek’s guilty plea was involuntary because of Dantos’ previous involvement with the case.
The attorneys say the Court may not involve itself in plea negotiations, but Santos set a minimum sentence the Court would accept.
Her legal team also wrote in a petition that Silvonek’s past traumas should be considered.
The attorneys were met with resistance by Dantos. Dantos said she did not handle the guilty plea negotiations incorrectly.
“I will state nothing was done inappropriately,” Dantos said. “I am denying the motion for recusal.”
Silvonek, who was handcuffed, wore a brown prison uniform during the hearing. She remained silent and maintained a stoic disposition.
Her father, David Silvonek, declined to comment to The Press, as did attorneys Quinn and Lindell.
Prosecutors have 60 days to hand over the discovery documents to Silvonek’s new legal counsel.
It is unclear when the next hearing will be scheduled.
