Man with mental illness pleads guilty to killing 2

By PAULA REED WARD
TribLive

A Clairton man accused of killing two men over a seven-month period — one in cold blood and the other in what he believed was self-defense — pleaded guilty on Wednesday.

Daniel Kelly, 25, was ordered to serve a total of 10 years in prison by Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Beth A. Lazzara in the two separate cases.

In the first, police said Kelly killed 18-year-old Dorian Serrano Jr., on June 14, 2022, on an isolated section of the Montour Trail in Jefferson Hills, leaving his body and returning to bury it nearby days later.

In the second, Kelly admitted to killing Nekye Smith, 20, during a dispute in Pitcairn on Jan. 2, 2023.

Kelly pleaded to one count of third-degree murder, abuse of corpse and a firearms count in Serrano’s case.

He pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and a gun charge in Smith’s case.

Allegheny County Assistant District Attorney Jameson Rohrer, who told the judge it was a negotiated plea, said the sentence — approved by the victims’ families and detectives — reflects the “complex issues in each case,” as well as Kelly’s mental health disorder.

Although Kelly never had any previous diagnosis, at the jail he was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder.

‘I never stopped’

Dominique Burwell and her family searched for her son, Serrano, for months.

“I was like a walking zombie, trying to accept the fact my child was gone and hidden by cowards,” she told the court in her victim impact statement. “But I never stopped.”

Serrano’s remains were found on Nov. 18, 2022, after a witness led police to them, Rohrer said.

“No mother should have to bury their child, let alone look for their corpse for months,” Burwell said. “It felt like a lifetime.”

According to Rohrer, Kelly convinced Serrano to go with him the night of June 14, 2022, to an isolated section of the trail near Clairton.

It was there, the prosecutor continued, that Kelly shot Serrano to keep him from cooperating in a police investigation, which was not further addressed in court. He then concealed the teen’s body near the trail.

A few days later, Kelly and another person who was not publicly identified returned to the site, dug a hole and buried Serrano, Rohrer said.

Months later, he continued, that witness led police to Serrano’s body.

The burial spot was excavated, Rohrer said, and Serrano’s remains were recovered.

He died from a gunshot wound.

Burwell told the court that in recent years, both her mom and fiancé also died, “but the pain is nothing even close,” to losing her son.

“The pain is unimaginable,” she said. “The hurt hurts your whole body.”

Wearing a shirt bearing her son’s picture and the words “Forever mommy’s boy,” written in pink, Burwell called her son “beautiful.”

Despite her pain, Burwell said of the defendant, “I don’t forgive him now, but I’m really trying to. I know I just need more time.

“This is a first step for me, though.”

‘Death as physical pain’

Around 4 p.m. on Jan. 2, 2023, Pitcairn police were called to the 400 block of Robinson Street for a reported shooting.

There they found Smith, 20, who had been shot in the head.

He died a short time later at Forbes Regional Trauma Center.

According to Rohrer, Kelly and Smith had a long-standing disagreement. That afternoon, when Kelly was in the neighborhood, Smith approached him with a gun Rohrer said.

Smith then spit on Kelly, and Kelly fired, Rohrer said.

Kelly later told multiple witnesses that he believed the shooting was justified, the prosecutor said. He was arrested 16 days later.

“Lethal force by Kelly was not justifiable under the circumstances,” Rohrer said.

As part of the hearing, the prosecutor read a victim impact statement from Smith’s older sister, who lives in New Mexico.

Alayah Walker described her brother as wild, goofy and caring, with a quick temper, but who could make you laugh.

Smith, she said, was only 20 years old and continuing to learn from his mistakes.

“I refuse to pretend he had to be perfect for his life to have value,” she said. “He was still becoming the man he was supposed to be.”

Their family, Walker said, suffered more than their fair share of tragedy. Their sister died when Walker was 16, and their mom died six years later.

Her brother, she wrote, is the one who found their mother’s body, and tried to revive her with CPR.

“We already knew what death could do to a family,” Walker wrote. “I never experienced death as physical pain until Nekye was killed.”

In her brother’s short life, Walker said, he experienced terrible things, yet he was still moving forward.

He had gotten a job, signed up for college classes and was dating a woman he loved, she said.

“His life was just beginning,” Walker wrote. “I will never know who my brother would have been at 25, or 30 or 40.” Wa l k er also talked about her 7-year old son and told the judge she doesn’t know how to explain to him what happened — and that it will affect their family forever.

“That is something people don’t understand about murder,” Walker wrote. “It doesn’t end with the person who died. It moves through generations. It does not simply disappear because time has passed.”

She also told the court she has thought about forgiveness.

“I pray for Daniel Kelly’s soul and his mental healing. But forgiveness and freedom are not the same thing.”

An apology

Defense attorney Rob Perkins told the court that his client experienced significant trauma as a child, but had never previously been diagnosed with any mental health condition.

However, once Kelly got to the jail, he was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder and is now receiving treatment.

“He’s not the same person today as he was when he entered the jail three years ago,” Perkins said.

Kelly spoke briefly during the hearing.

“Even though it may not mean much,” he said, “I want the families to know I am sorry for my actions that caused the deaths of their family members.”

Lazzara, in addressing Kelly, told him that when he gets released from prison, he will have a chance to live a better life.

“You can see the gaping holes and the loss you have caused for these families,” she said. “It is my hope you will learn from this so that you make a difference for another family.”