Trial Delayed in Murder of Local College Student

The trial of a Florida man charged with killing a Bucks County native near his West Virginia university has been delayed.

The Intelligencer and Wheeling News-Register reports that Ohio County Circuit Court Judge James Mazzone vacated 22-year-old Craig Tyler Peacock's trial on Tuesday. The trial was set to begin April 29.

Peacock's attorney, Robert McCoid, requested a continuance to accommodate the availability of an expert witness.

The 22-year-old Clewiston, Fla., man is charged with first-degree murder in the death of 21-year-old Kevin Figaniak of Perkasie, Pa.

Prosecutors say Figaniak was beaten during an argument on Aug. 31, 2013, and died the next day.

Co-defendant Jarrett Mathis Chandler of Winnfield, La., pleaded guilty in January to involuntary manslaughter. He was sentenced to a year in prison.

Figaniak attended Pennridge High School in Perkasie, Pa. School principal Dr. Thomas Creeden said in a statement that the entire school community was "saddened and shocked" by the "horrific death."

"Kevin was an outstanding young man with a high level of energy and a very competitive nature. Kevin was a hardworking student with a love for ice hockey and lacrosse. He continued that eagerness for competition through his college years..."

Figaniak played both lacrosse and hockey while majoring in business at Wheeling Jesuit where he was set to graduate this spring.

“Kevin spent the last three years at Wheeling Jesuit forging friendships and in his final hours, Kevin was surrounded by those friends and his family, who, through their love and prayers, brought Kevin home to Jesus,” said WJU president Rev. James Fleming in a prepared statement.

Figaniak and his friend were attacked by a group of men along Locust Avenue in a residential neighborhood near some bars and restaurants. Figaniak's friend suffered some bumps and bruises, according police.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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