WHITEHALL TOWNSHIP, Pa. — A 21-year-old Whitehall Township man accused of fatally stabbing his 40-year-old father during a family argument last month will face trial, Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin P. Holihan’s office said Tuesday.
A judge’s ruling at a preliminary hearing Tuesday sends the homicide case against Daniel Latorre Jr. to Lehigh County Court. Court records show he is due there Dec. 10 at 1:30 p.m. for formal arraignment before Judge Douglas G. Reichley.
Magisterial District Judge Kyle B. Miller held felony charges of criminal homicide and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for court, the DA’s office said. The judge dismissed a misdemeanor count of possessing a prohibited weapon.
Latorre has been held in Lehigh County Jail since Sept. 16, with bail denied on a non-bailable offense, according to court records.
Whitehall Township police were called around 8:30 p.m. Sept. 15 to a stabbing at a home in the 700 block of Second Street, according to the DA’s office. Investigators said Latorre stabbed his father, Daniel S. Latorre Sr.
First responders tried to save the father, but he died of his injuries, the DA’s office said. Lehigh County Coroner Daniel Buglio ruled that he died of sharp force injuries and that his death was a homicide.
According to the DA’s office, it began as a verbal argument between a woman and the father, recorded on a cellphone, in what appears to be a domestic dispute among the three family members who lived at the home. The woman is Latorre’s mother, The Morning Call reported.
During that argument, investigators said, the son was armed with a pocketknife, which he used on his father. His mother was also hurt, with a cut to her hand, the DA’s office said.
The general charge of criminal homicide covers murder, voluntary manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter under Pennsylvania law.
The hearing had first been set for Sept. 21 and was pushed back after the defense asked for a continuance, court records show. Allentown attorney Dennis G. Charles represents Latorre, according to the records.
Whitehall Township Police Detective Alexander Reinik and Detective Moses Miller of the DA’s Homicide Task Force investigated the case. Senior Deputy District Attorney Ashley N. Troxell and Holihan will prosecute.
Latorre is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.