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Christmas Eve family murder trial begins
The killings took place on Christmas Eve 2002, less than a month before the girls were to testify in court that he had sexually molested them for years.
Ernest R. Wholaver Jr., 44, is being tried on charges that he murdered Jean, 43, Victoria, 20, and Elizabeth Wholaver, 15.
The trial, in Dauphin County Court, also wraps in the sexual assault charges and allegations that, while imprisoned on the murder charges, he tried to hire a hit man to kill and frame Victoria's ex-boyfriend for the slayings.
The three were discovered shot to death in their Middletown home by authorities after Jean's co-workers reported her missing for work. Victoria's 9-month-old daughter was found unharmed, crying next to her mother's body.
Wholaver, looking gaunt and pale, entered the Dauphin County courthouse without comment this morning.
Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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