Judge denies defense request in Ronchi murder case

SALEM – A Superior Court judge has denied the defense access to documentation involving the blood comparison tests at the state lab for the upcoming trial of Peter S. Ronchi, charged with stabbing his nine-month pregnant girlfriend to death in her Salem apartment in 2009.In Salem Superior Court Wednesday, defense lawyer David J. Nathanson asked Judge Timothy Q. Feeley to order that he be able to compare the Amylase testing process used at the state lab in Maynard.Amylase testing is the proper scientific name for testing to detect the presence of saliva.Nathanson said he needed the information to prepare the defense.Assistant District Attorney Jean M. Curran pointed out the defense has been provided copies of the Amylase comparative tests and all documentation involving the process in the analysis.Feeley agreed with Curran, saying the defense has the right to “inspect and view,” but not analyze the process by which the test was performed.Curran turned over several blood-stain images to the defense involving a pair of blood- stained pants recovered from the bathroom floor at 12 Pope St., where the alleged murder occurred.Ronchi, 47, who last lived at 10 Taft St., Marblehead, stands charged with two counts of first-degree murder in connection with the May 16, 2009 stabbing death of his 42-year-old girlfriend, Yuliya Galperina, and her unborn son. She was stabbed more than 15 times inside her apartment at 12 Pope St., Unit 512B, at the Salem Heights complex in Salem.Her body was found that morning by her two older children when they awoke.Investigators have a complex video reportedly showing Ronchi entering the building carrying a 6-inch hunting knife and leaving the premises in different clothing.After leaving the apartment, Ronchi reportedly went back to his Marblehead home, and then drove to Norwalk, Conn., where he eventually turned himself into police and allegedly made a series of incriminating statements about the incident.Curran expects to pursue a premeditated theory in the case with both extreme atrocity and cruelty.Ronchi, a massage therapist, has pleaded not guilty to both indictments. A conviction will put him behind bars for the rest of his life. He is due back in court on Nov. 3 for additional preliminary trial motions.The case is scheduled for trial on Nov. 30. In the meantime, he remains held without bail at the Middleton Jail.