Schuylkill County’s President Judge said Monday that interested parties in the Lamour Branch double murder trial set to begin in two weeks that they should avoid doing things that end up in the news media.
Judge Jacqueline Russell presided over a motion in limine, or pre-trial evidentiary, hearing on Monday inside Courtroom 2 at Schuylkill County Courthouse. As the May 4 trial date nears, she told Schuylkill County District Attorney Mike O’Pake that he should inform “interested parties and ask them to refrain from doing anything that could end up in the media.”
There is concern that an impartial jury of 12 can be seated in the trial due to extensive news coverage of the events leading up to the case’s conclusion. Russell noted a motion for a venue change filed in early 2025 by Branch’s attorney, Ashley Sabol, of the Schuylkill County Public Defenders Office.
In her motion, Sabol pointed to several news articles she believes paints a presumption of guilt about her client. And comments on social media posts about the case underscore those concerns. That motion did feature several articles from other news outlets that she said made Branch out to be guilty before his case is heard. No Coal Region Canary articles were included. However, reader comments on a social media post promoting a Coal Region Canary article from this outlet’s page were included.
That motion was eventually pulled back before media publishers and reporters were to be called to testify on their coverage and audience reach.
“It’s always a possibility,” Russell said of potentially not being able to find jurors, especially when “the community becomes so knowledgeable about a case.”
Jury selection in the Commonwealth v. Lamour Branch case is expected to begin on May 1. If a jury can not be seated in the case, Schuylkill County will have to go to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and seek a change in venue.
Russell said that although coverage of the case has subsided recently, it’s likely to start back up again as the trial date gets closer.
Branch is accused of killing 18-year-old Hunter Mock and 16-year-old Angelito Caraballo on Oct. 8, 2023, in a wooded area near New Philadelphia known as The Sanchez. Prosecutors say Mock was shot dead by Branch, who then stabbed Caraballo to death before fleeing the area.
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