Defenses presents new evidence on 43-year-old murder case of State College man

BELLEFONTE, Pa. (WTAJ) — Nearly 200 people flocked to the Centre County Courthouse Monday for a hearing on new evidence in a decades-old murder case against a State College man.

In 1983, former State College resident Subramanyam “Subu” Vedam was convicted of murdering Thomas Kinser, his classmate. Vedam has long stated his innocence and now he, members of the community and his attorneys are fighting to overturn the 42-year-old conviction with the new evidence they believe proves he is incident.

The Commonwealth spoke first, with Attorney Joshua Andrews expressing why they must stand by the 1983 conviction. Andrews said the one-year window for appeal is long gone. He also mentioned that the defense is trying to argue that the murder weapon was being “suppressed” despite it never being recovered. Additionally, Andrews added that despite a possible size disparity with the bullet and wound it caused, that is not enough to take this any further.

The defense, who had Gopal Balachandran speak, opened his remarks by discussing a 100-page FBI report that was not made available until Jan. 10, 2024. The report found that the bullet size did not match the bullet wound size found on Kinser’s skull.

Balachandran argued the Commonwealth suppressed evidence that took away Vedam’s chance at a fair trial that resulted in him being wrongfully convicted.

He mentioned that during the trial, the FBI agent who testified said there were no inconsistencies found regarding the bullets and the wound, despite the 100-page report. The defense however reached out to a forensic anthropologist in North Carolina, who has worked with Pennsylvania State Police in the past to get to the bottom of things.

Balachandran said that the anthropologist found the bullet, a .25 caliber that is fully jacketed, could not have been fired by a handgun or pistol, which does not match with the findings in the 1983 trial. He added that if needed, the anthropologist is even willing to testify.

The defense closed their remarks with this:

“Every day, every hour, every second he’s (Vedam) spent in jail is an injustice,” Balachandran said.

The state Superior Court ruled in 1985 that evidence in the case was “sufficient” to sustain the conviction, but it was revered due to the judge allowing testimony about prior misconduct involving Vedam. In 1988 he was convicted again of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without parole.

Centre County President Judge Jonathan Grine said he will be reviewing what both sides presented and will make a decision soon if an evidentiary hearing is needed.

Outside the courthouse, supporters gathered for lunch while still showing their support for Vedam with signs.

WTAJ also had the chance to catch up with Balachandran regarding today’s hearing.

“The case has gotten stronger with each passing day, each passing month and I think the evidence that represented really shows that Subu didn’t commit this crime,” Balachandran said.

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He also added that with the 100-page FBI report being withheld for so long, it plays a key part in size differentiation regarding the bullet and wound.

“Absolutely, I mean, if you think about it’s like going to the doctor’s office right?” He said. “And someone says well, you know, it’s not inconsistent with you needing open-heart surgery. You’re going to want to know why. You’re going to want to know what kind of information underlies that conclusion and here in a very central case, in a first-degree murder case, you’ll want to know what it is someone is concluding what they’re concluding.”

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