by Geoff Fox
Three years after Edward Gilhart of Hancock was murdered on his way to work in Pennsylvania, a jury in Franklin County has found one of the accused murders guilty in the murder and other counts.
Jurors found Ryan Lynn Horton, 30, of McConnellsburg, guilty of first-degree murder on Friday, June 7 in Franklin County Courthouse. Horton faces life in prison.
Judge Jeremiah D. Zook presided over the murder trial.
Horton was also found guilty of conspiracy to commit homicide, robbery to inflict serious bodily injury, conspiracy to commit robbery to inflict serious bodily injury, theft by unlawful taking, conspiracy to commit theft by unlawful taking, possession of firearm when prohibited, and having an unlicensed firearm.
Both accomplices – Emily Tucker, 24, and Christian Harris, 22, – testified against Horton during the week-long trial that started on Monday, June 3.
Gilhart was on his way to work in the early hours of June 2, 2016, when he stopped his car to examine a duffle bag in the middle of a Franklin County Road.
Horton and Harris ambushed Horton and shot him in the middle of the road, taking his wallet that held $24 in cash.
Gilhart’s vehicle was found approximately 25 miles away from the murder scene in Fulton County along Mill Hill Road.
According to news accounts of the Chambersburg trial, Franklin County District Attorney Matt Fogel presented a phone call made from Horton to his mother after he had been arrested. During the call, Horton told her how he messed up and got caught up in not having money.
News accounts also said a bullet jacket found at the scene of the murder was found with Gilhart’s DNA and the bullet was determined to be fired from the same .357 magnum revolver found in Horton’s car exactly three years prior on June 7, 2016.
Franklin County District Attorney Matt Fogel said in an email to The Hancock News sentencing will take place this Friday, June 14, at 9 a.m. in Franklin County.
