Seven months after the tragic deaths of Giana and Aaminah Vicosa, still many questions remain about the handling of the case. A report from the PA Attorney General’s Office cited “major concerns.” Despite claims of transparency, the York County District Attorney’s Office is keeping the AG’s report sealed.
“"We think he went too far here," said attorney Joshua Bonn.
Three days after the tragic deaths of Giana and Aaminah Vicosa, the two York County girls abducted by their father and eventually killed, York County District Attorney Dave Sunday promised transparency in the investigation of the events leading up to the tragedy. In question, why it took the York County Regional Police Department nearly 24 hours to serve a PFA and search warrant on the Vicosa home. Now, seven months and one major Attorney General report later, the York County DA is falling short of his promise.
“On even the very best of days, and circumstances, law-enforcement cannot prevent every instance of evil or thwart every plan,” Sunday said during a news conference on 11/22/21.
Promising full transparency, DA Sunday, three days after the deaths of Giana and Aaminah Vicosa, promised a full investigation into the handling of the incident. But, so far, experts think the DA is falling short.
“If the Attorney General has major concerns about what happened here, the public has a right to know what those concerns are,” said Joshua Bonn, partner with Nauman Smith.
At odds, an Attorney General report that was authored on March 17 cited “major concerns” with the handling of the Vicosa case. The PA Attorney General turned the full findings over to the York County DA. Despite four right-to-know requests, the DA and AG denied CBS21 News and the public this important information. Much of the impetus behind the denials are claims of a continuing investigation.
“We are not seeking any information about the murderers or anything like that. What we are seeking information about is what was the police department's role in serving the PFA and that is not a criminal matter,” Bonn said.
“The government functions best when it is aided by an informed and involved citizenry. And we can't have that if we can't have access to records,” said Melissa Melewsky, Media Law Counsel for the PA News Media Association.
“If they were some type of delay in the service of the PFA in this case, the public should be entitled to know why that occurred,” said Bonn.
Bonn is backing the efforts to gain access to the report. Under Pennsylvania’s right-to-know law, every government document is open to the public. The burden to seal the information falls on the agency.
“Without access to records, there is no accountability. You can't understand your government and hold public officials accountable if you don't have access to the records that illustrate what they are actually doing,” said Melewsky.
Much of the information garnered in this case has been through sources and Harold Goodman, the attorney for Marissa Vicosa, the girl’s mother. Right now, a lawsuit is “in the works” against the York County Regional Police Department. In fact, CBS21 News confirmed through public files that Marissa Vicosa opened two estates at the Register of Wills in York County, one in each of the girl’s names, in anticipation of “litigation proceeds.”
“When we don't know what the government is up to and what decisions have been made, we are left to wonder and fill in all the blanks,” Melewsky said.
“For the York County District Attorney, this seems sort of like a bad look?” Gorsegner asked.
“I think the District Attorney here has to walk a fine line between protecting investigative information but disclosing things that are not related to the criminal investigation,” Bonn said.
“The purpose for this again is to analyze what happened and to figure out ways that we can minimize the potential for horrific outcomes like this in the future,” Sunday said in the news conference.
Because of the intricacies of the case, DA Sunday formed a committee of police chiefs from across the county to diagnose the handling of the situation. But seven months later, a source says that group has never formally met, left to wonder what can be learned from the scenario.
“It can help not only the public understand what's happening. But, it can help public officials illustrate what they are doing to affirmatively and positively address the situation,” Melewsky.
“Why is it important for the public to be able to obtain this type of information?” Gorsegner asked.
“If you don't know what happened, if you don't know the outline of the events, then that hinders the public's ability to scrutinize the actions of the public officials,” said Bonn.
At stake, two police officers' careers as well. Sources tell me, Corporal Dan Miller, who has since been demoted to officer because of the handling of this incident, is going through the arbitration process to try to get his rank back. Officer Justin Main was fired by Police Chief Tim Damon in response to this incident and has since been hired by the West York Police Department. No word on if he will be seeking any damages.