Gag order in Piazza at Schmidts murder case

The judge overseeing the Piazza double-murder case imposed a gag order yesterday forbidding lawyers from speaking publicly about it.

"There will be no more discussion in public about the facts and issues of this case," said Common Pleas Court Judge Benjamin Lerner. Gag orders are sometimes issued in high-profile cases to prevent influencing the opinions of potential jurors. The murders in June became one of the city's most sensational and widely covered crime stories.

Rian Thal, 34, and Timothy Gilmore, 40, were gunned down in the hallway outside Thal's apartment in the Piazza at Schmidts complex in Northern Liberties in what police have described as a drug robbery gone bad. Police found eight pounds of cocaine and more than $100,000 in cash in her apartment. Eight people have been arrested, including a convicted drug dealer who prosecutors said masterminded the killings. Most of the attorneys involved in the case have declined to comment thus far, though Assistant District Attorneys Jennifer Selber and Carlos Vega have publicly discussed aspects of the case. - Allison Steele