Doctor guilty of murder in 1976 love-triangle case

MONTROSE, Pa. - A jury yesterday convicted a doctor of killing his best friend over a love triangle more than 30 years ago.

Dr. Stephen Scher, now 67, was convicted of first-degree murder in the shotgun death of lawyer Martin Dillon, 30. Dillon was killed while the pair were skeet shooting in rural northeastern Pennsylvania in 1976.

Prosecutors said Scher killed Dillon so he could marry Dillon's wife. Scher claimed that Dillon confronted him about his extramarital affair with Patricia Dillon, and was killed accidentally as the pair struggled over a shotgun.

The jury's verdict, which came after just two hours of deliberations, thrilled Dillon's family.

"I hope that this time they throw away the key," said Dillon's sister, Joann Reimel, 59. "We've been through enough. We're very, very grateful to the jury."

Scher was also convicted of first-degree murder in 1997, but an appeals court ordered a new trial in 2004.

Scher, who will be sentenced today, faces an automatic sentence of life in prison without parole. He had no reaction as the verdict was read. Defense attorney Joshua Lock said there would be an appeal.

The doctor had claimed for more than 20 years that Dillon tripped and accidentally shot himself while chasing a porcupine. He changed his story in 1997, after prosecution witnesses at his first trial testified that his boots had blood spatter on them and that a tiny piece of Dillon's flesh was found on Scher's pants leg.

In his closing argument yesterday, Senior Deputy Attorney General Patrick Blessington cast Scher as an arrogant doctor with a God complex.