Mixed verdicts for killers of popular Penn researcher

and Ben Geldon Bridgette Black, the confessed killer of University scientist Vladimir Sled, was sentenced to five to 12 years in prison July 31 for her part in the 1996 murder. Black, 27, of the 5100 block of Reno Street, was convicted of third-degree murder by Common Pleas Judge Carolyn Temin, after pleading guilty to a general charge of murder. The other two defendants charged in connection with the crime received mixed verdicts in separate May trials, in which Black was the star prosecution witness. Yvette Stewart, 30, who drove the getaway car and allegedly shot a gun during the struggle, was convicted of third-degree murder in addition to the robbery charges. She faces up to 94 years in jail and will be sentenced September 17. Eugene "Sultan" Harrison, 33, who started the incident by attempting to snatch Sled's fiancee's purse, was acquitted of the murder but convicted of robbery and other charges. He faces up to 65 years in prison at his scheduling September 10. Harrison and Stewart were also convicted of robbing a Philadelphia Daily News driver earlier on the same day as the Sled incident. Black was not involved in the prior robbery. Common Pleas Judge Eugene Clarke, who presided over both trials, will also decide on sentencing for Stewart and Harrison. Harrison's attorney, Tariq El-Shabazz, said at the time that Harrison was "very, very pleased" by the verdict. El Shabazz had told the jury during opening and closing arguments that Harrison was not contesting the robberies, but should not be held accountable for Black's actions. Then-Assistant District Attorney Dick Carroll, who prosecuted all three defendants before entering private practice in July, said after the trials that his case against Stewart was stronger because of testimony that she fired a gun. Both trials relied heavily on testimony by Black and Sled's fiancee, former University researcher Cecilia Hagerhall. Sled, a popular and well-respected researcher who came to Penn from Russia in 1992, was stabbed to death on October 31, 1996, four days after his 38th birthday, on the 4300 block of Larchwood Avenue. Sled and Hagerhall, were walking home when Harrison jumped on Hagerhall and tried to take her purse. When the purse strap refused to break, Sled struggled with Harrison and attempted to protect Hagerhall. In the melee that ensued, Black got out of Harrison's stolen sedan and swung her knife around, stabbing Sled five times. Stewart drove the car up and allegedly fired a gun into the air before the trio fled the scene. State sentencing guidelines called for Black to be sentenced to 20 to 40 years, but judges in Pennsylvania have a lot of discretion in determining sentencing. Lawyers for either side can appeal a sentence that is lower or higher than the guidelines. Temin cited Black's abusive childhood, substance addiction and life on the streets as a prostitute in dealing her a light sentence. Black has expressed extreme remorse for the incident since she found out she was responsible for Sled's death. She maintained in her testimony that she only meant to "scare" Sled, and emerged from the getaway car only after finding out Stewart started to head towards the struggle with a gun. She also said she did know the wounds she inflicted on Sled were fatal until her arrest. The fact that Black testified for the prosecution may have also played into Temin's sentence, although Fred Goodman, one of Black's court-appointed attorneys, said last month that Black cooperated because "she believed it was the right thing to do." Assistant District Attorney Mark Gibson, who took over for Carroll, said in August he was "extremely disappointed" by the verdicts, and the D.A.'s office filed a petition August 5 to vacate the sentencing. Carroll's expectations about the punishments the three would receive steadily declined following the trio's November 1996 arrests. Early in the legal proceedings, he told The Daily Pennsylvanian that he had an open-and-shut case for first-degree murder and would probably seek the death penalty for all three defendants. As the trial dates approached, however, it became clearer and clearer that the prosecution had no evidence of first degree murder and would have a hard time even proving second- or third-degree murder without Black's cooperation. To convict any of the three of second-degree murder, prosecutors had to prove that all of the suspects planned the robbery and killed Sled when he got in the way. Stewart and Black both said they didn't know Harrison planned to rob the couple, and Harrison said he had no idea Black had a weapon.

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