Aliquippa man convicted in 1996 murder-for-hire plot dies while in prison

HUNTINGDON, Pa. ― Officials have revealed that an Aliquippa man convicted for his role in a well-known murder-for-hire plot in Beaver County nearly 30 years ago died Friday afternoon.

According to authorities at SCI Huntingdon , correctional officers found 44-year-old Trazis Durham unresponsive in his cell on Aug. 16. Medical personnel on the scene tried to assist him, and he was taken to Penn Highlands Hospital, but medical staff pronounced Durham dead as of 1:27 p.m. that day.

Durham was serving up to a life sentence at the state correctional institution for his role in the murder-for-hire deaths of William and Teresa Samuel in Aliquippa on April 11, 1996. Investigators, when testifying about the incident in 2019, described the plot as "detailed" and "horrific."

Durham, who was 16 at the time of his arrest, was convicted of first-degree murder after it was discovered he had worked together with Pete Schoonover, 18, to murder the couple in their home along Aliquippa's Fourth Avenue. An investigation by local police revealed both men were hired by Brian Samuel, 16, to kill his parents in exchange for $12,000 each.

According to police testimony in the case, Samuel signaled the other teenagers to enter the home on April 11. Once they received the signal, Durham and Schoonover walked into the house and gunned down Samuel's parents. Theresa Ferris-Dukovich, who served as the district attorney at the time, said the crime was plotted after Samuel's parents blocked the teenager's access to his grandparents' money.

All three men were sentenced to two consecutive life sentences for the murders, but Durham and Samuel had revisited Beaver County's courtrooms in recent years after a 2016 U.S. Supreme Court ruling required a resentencing for any of the juveniles who had received automatic life sentences without the option of parole. During this time, Durham's sentence was changed to 40 years to life.

Pennsylvania State Police are continuing to investigate the incident. As of Tuesday morning, the cause of Durham's death had not been released to the public.

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Aliquippa man convicted in 1996 murder-for-hire plot dies while in prison