A Delaware County jury began hearing testimony Tuesday in the first-degree murder trial of Marson Weh, the man accused of fatally stabbing 15-year-old Upper Darby High School student Michael Garr on a Drexel Hill street more than three years ago. Prosecutors told jurors the April 2023 killing was an unprovoked and heinous attack against a teenager who had no connection whatsoever to the man charged with his death.
According to CBS News, Delaware County District Attorney Tanner Rouse told the jury that Weh had no earthly connection to Garr, a sophomore who was simply walking up Bridge Street when he was attacked. Rouse said the case represented the kind of crime people need to pretend does not happen, and he showed jurors the knife prosecutors say Weh used, which they say contained traces of Garr's blood deep within its handle. Prosecutors allege Weh stabbed and slashed Garr eleven times.
Garr was found bleeding from a stab wound along the 200 block of Bridge Street in Drexel Hill on April 21, 2023, and was pronounced dead at the scene, according to NBC10 Philadelphia. Investigators later identified Weh as the man captured on surveillance video fleeing the area after the attack, the station reported. Police have said video footage, a bloodstain and clothing details led detectives to Weh, per the CBS News report.
A Bystander's Account
Jurors also heard from Ian Coughlan, who told the court he found Garr near his car seeking help and stayed to comfort him. Coughlan said he was glad Garr was not by himself in his final moments and that he was glad he had been there to help, even as he described a life cut short. A 911 call was played for jurors during testimony, per the CBS News account.
DNA evidence and other material recovered from a Clifton Heights home linked Weh to the stabbing, according to PhillyVoice. That outlet reported police scoured thousands of hours of surveillance footage as part of the investigation, and separately connected Weh to a February 7, 2023 stabbing and carjacking in which a pregnant woman who was with a child was stabbed and had her car stolen. Weh has since pleaded guilty to unrelated assault and vehicle-theft charges in Ohio and was sentenced to nine and a half years in prison, according to 6abc, which reported Weh was charged with first-degree murder in Garr's death.
Family Describes Years of Waiting
Garr's family had waited a long time for the case to reach trial. His father told the court the three and a half years since the killing had been hell and described his son as a good person whose presence would have improved the world. Susan Scharr described Garr as a sweetheart and the best kid in the world, according to the CBS News report.
Weh has pleaded not guilty. During the proceedings, jurors reportedly noticed Weh speaking to himself for most of the day in court, the CBS News account said. His defense attorney asked the jury to simply listen to the evidence before reaching a conclusion. Testimony is expected to conclude by the end of the week, per the same report.
The stabbing left the Drexel Hill community shaken when it happened in 2023, a period when a motive for the attack was not yet known, according to Audacy. At the time, the Delaware County Fraternal Order of Police offered a reward for information leading to an arrest, though reported figures for that reward have varied between outlets. PhillyVoice has also reported that Garr's family planned to create a nonprofit in his memory.
