Pennsylvania man convicted in 1996 murder-for-hire has died, officials announced

HUNTINGDON COUNTY, Pa. (WTAJ) — A Pennsylvania man who was convicted of first-degree murder was found unresponsive in his SCI Huntingdon cell Friday.

Trazis Durham, 44, was pronounced dead after he was rushed from SCI Huntingdon to Penn Highlands Friday, Aug. 16 at 1:37 p.m., superintendent John Rivello announced.

Rivello added that Durham has been in SCI Huntingdon since 1998.

Durham was serving a 40-year-to-life sentence for first-degree murder in 1996 in Beaver County. Born in 1979, Durham was just days from his 18th birthday when his sentence was handed down.

According to the Associated Press , Durham was just 16 years old when he was hired, along with an 18-year-old, to kill a Beaver County teen’s parents.

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Bryan Samuel was 16 when he hired Durham and Pete Schoonover to kill his parents in exchange for $12,000 each, according to AP. It was alleged the victims were going to cut Samuel off from his generous grandparents.

While Pennsylvania has not banned life without parole for juveniles, a Supreme Court ruling was cited for both Samuel and Durham to be resentenced in 2019.

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