U.S. Supreme Court Denies Request For Bristol Twp. Killer

The U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington D.C.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday denied an appeal from a former Bristol Township man seeking a review of his first-degree murder conviction and death sentence in a 1987 killing that had drawn national attention.

Richard Roland Laird, 62, filed a petition for a writ of certiorari with the nation’s highest court as he challenged a previous U.S. appeals court decision that upheld his conviction.

Richard Roland Laird. Credit: PA Department of Corrections

The victim, 26-year-old artist Anthony Milano, was found dead in a wooded area of Bristol Township’s Venice Ashby section on Dec. 15, 1987.

Milano, whom prosecutors said was gay, had suffered multiple slash wounds to his face, neck, and shoulder, with neck wounds deep enough to sever his vertebrae, according to a medical examiner.

Authorities also found Milano’s mother’s 1976 Chevrolet Nova ablaze near where his lifeless body was located.

The Bucks County District Attorney’s Office filed a brief in opposition and requested that the Supreme Court deny the petition and maintain the conviction and sentence.

“The case gained national significance because it marked the first instance in U.S. history where a conviction and death sentence were secured for a murder motivated by anti-gay bias,” a statement from prosecutors said.

Prosecutors noted that a federal appeals court later overturned the initial convictions and sentences for Laird and co-defendant Frank Chester, which granted them retrials due to errors in the first proceeding.

Bucks County District Attorney Jennifer Schorn hailed the Supreme Court’s denial of Laird’s request for a review of his case.

Bucks County District Attorney Jennifer Schorn addressing reporters in May 2025. Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com

“The Supreme Court’s denial of certiorari confirms the validity of Richard Roland Laird’s conviction and sentence,” Schorn said. “This decision is a crucial step toward bringing closure to the family and loved ones of Anthony Milano, who have waited decades for justice to be finally and irrevocably served.”

The denial from the U.S. Supreme Court ends the court actions that stemmed from Richard Roland Laird v. Laurel Harry, Secretary, Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, et al.

According to authorities, Laird and Chester escorted Milano from a bar on Route 13 in Bristol Township before traveling to the Venice Ashby section where Milano was killed.

Prosecutors have stated that the crime was motivated by Milano’s sexual orientation.

Laird and Chester were initially found guilty of the crime in late 1988 and sentenced to death, but both men disputed the outcome over the years.

In 2016, Chester, formerly of Tullytown Borough, accepted a plea deal before Bucks County Court of Common Pleas Judge Rea Boylan. Chester admitted to first-degree criminal homicide and received a sentence of life in a state prison without parole.