By ERIC TICHY
Special to the OBSERVER
The Virginia man suspected of fatally shooting Clymer Central School Superintendent Keith L. Reed Jr. in September is expected to be returned to Chautauqua County sometime this week.
In a news release Monday, District Attorney David Foley said Anthony R. Taglianetti failed to file a writ of habeas corpus in Prince William County, Va., where he is being held.
As a result, Taglianetti - who refused to waive extradition proceedings to New York after his Sept. 28 apprehension - is eligible for an "immediate return" to face a charge of second-degree murder. Although authorities have until Jan. 4, 2013, to retrieve Taglianetti, Foley expects the Chautauqua County Sheriff's Department will travel to Virginia sometime this week.
"One thing we have been trying to do is get him back here," Foley said. "We don't want this to linger. We want to hold him responsible."
Chautauqua County Sheriff Joe Gerace confirmed his office was making arrangements to get Taglianetti. Gerace said a return this week is "very possible."
The district attorney, meanwhile, said he wasn't sure why Taglianetti would not sign the writ of habeas corpus, a proceeding to determine if imprisonment or detention is lawful.
"For him not to sign is a little bit inconsistent," Foley said.
Reed was found dead Sept. 24 outside his Clymer-Sherman Road. Taglianetti, a then-oral historian with the Marine Corps in Quantico, Va., was named a suspect three days later. He was captured the following day by members of the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force and the Harrisonburg Police Department in Virginia.
Authorities believe Taglianetti shot Reed three times because he believed the superintendent was having an affair with his wife. It is believed Reed met Mary Jenks Taglianetti on the Internet while she and her husband were separated.
After driving six hours to New York, police say Taglianetti visited the Clymer school where Reed worked before shooting him outside his home. Taglianetti then drove back to Virginia before he was arrested without incident.
Once back in New York, Taglianetti will be arraigned in Clymer Town Court on the felony complaint. A preliminary hearing also will take place, and if the court finds there is a reasonable basis to hold him, Taglianetti will be detained and his case will go to a grand jury.
If a grand jury hands up an indictment, jury selection can begin and a trial scheduled.
