A man convicted of murder was denied recently by a state Appellate court to have DNA tested from his case.
A New Jersey appellate court has denied a convicted Woodbridge man's request to have new DNA testing on item's used in a 20-year-old murder.
Peter Papasavvas, who was convicted by a jury in 1998 of murdering a woman two years earlier who lived nearby, filed a motion in 2014 for DNA tests on two belts "that had been tied around the victim's face," according to the appellate court's ruling earlier this week.
He was appealing an earlier request for DNA testing, which was denied by Superior Court Judge Diane Pincus in 2013. According to the appellate court's ruling, Pincus had determined that even if there was evidence favorable to Papasavvas, it alone would not raise enough reasonable probability for a new trial.
And, the appellate court wrote that after a review, it found "nothing in the record suggesting Judge Pincus misapplied her discretion" and affirmed the initial denial.
In late April 1996, Papasavvas broke into the home of 64-year-old Mildred Place, who lived on West Henry Place in Iselin. He had been fleeing police in only his underwear after they came looking for him earlier at his nearby home, court documents said.
Sometime after 10 p.m., Place had found Papasavvas hiding in her basement, at which point he put her in a sleeper hold to render her unconscious. After passing out from the hold, however, she tumbled down the cellar stairs, causing her to break her neck, "a severe injury that may have caused her death," according to the appellate court documents.
The ruling noted "bizarre and repulsive" evidence found in the case including "very straight scissor cuts of her clothing" that left "exposed her private parts."
According to the ruling, Papasavvas left incriminating evidence when at 11:15 p.m. "he called his home, leaving a record of that call on Mrs. Place's telephone bill." The ruling also said that he "stole (Place's) car and partied in New York with a girlfriend," using her credit cards.
Papasavvas initially was sentenced to death, but the ruling was eventually vacated, and he was resentenced to life in prison with 30 years of parole ineligibility on the charge of murder. That charge is to run consecutively with a 20-year term with 10 years of parole ineligibility on related charges.
Spencer Kent may be reached at skent@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerMKent. Find the Find NJ.com on Facebook.