After a few-week hiatus, the grand jury for the investigation into the November murder of a prominent Delmar resident and the coinciding attack of his wife will resume this Friday.
A court officer from the New York State Appellate Court, where Peter Porco served as Judge Anthony Cardona’s law clerk, showed up at the Porco’s 36 Brockley Drive residence on the morning of Nov. 15 when Peter Porco failed to report for work. Joan Porco was found upstairs from her deceased husband, with trauma to the head and body, police have said. Joan Porco was alert before she was taken by ambulance to the hospital.
She remained at an Albany hospital for weeks, with her family keeping vigil beside a police presence before she was transferred to Sunnyview Rehabilitation Center in Niskayuna before Christmas.
The grand jury has heard from dozens of witnesses, according to Assistant District Attorney Dave Rossi.
The grand jury took a break for the holidays, over which a new district attorney was sworn in, and then took time off, Rossi said, because the terms for the grand jury members, who are regular citizens from all walks of life, had expired.
`We took about two, three weeks off to adjust the schedules of the grand jurors. Their terms have been extended,` Rossi said, though he declined to say for how long.
Rossi also couldn’t comment on whether an end is in sight for the grand jury, which has met to investigate the murder of Peter Porco, who was 52 when he died.
Rossi has said the grand jury investigation will not necessarily generate charges or an indictment.
When the grand jury is finished hearing testimony, a judge will review the transcripts, though they will not be made public, Rossi said, noting that grand juries and the testimony they hear remain a secretive process.
Chris Porco and his 23-year-old brother, Johnathan Porco, who is in the Navy, were called persons of interest at the beginning of the investigation. Both were interviewed by police. Chris Porco’s Jeep Wrangler was seized by police for processing after they traveled to Rochester the day of the discovery of Peter Porco’s body.
Bethlehem Police have never publicly called Chris Porco a suspect in the attack on his parents.
Interviews with Chris Porco ended when Terence Kindlon, whose services were retained by 21-year-old Chris Porco’s family, advised him not participate in any more police interviews.
Rossi said the district attorney’s office remains in contact with the Porco family.“