Execution of Ivan Teleguz set for April 25

UPDATE (1:20 p.m., Feb. 24):

Ivan Teleguz - a Rockingham County man convicted in 2006 of hiring another man to kill his ex-girlfriend, Stephanie Sipe, in Harrisonburg - is scheduled to be executed on April 25th.

That's after a hearing in Rockingham County Circuit Court this afternoon, in which Commonwealth Attorney Marsha Garst made the argument to set the date. Garst has been the Commonwealth's attorney for Rockinham County and Harrisonburg since 1999 and was the key prosecutor in the 2006 case.

Teleguz's execution will mark the only person from Rockingham County executed in the last decade.

Since Teleguz's 2006 conviction, two key prosecution witnesses have recanted, and a number of Teleguz advocates questioned what they saw as holes in evidence. The Virginia Capital Representation Resource Center launched a petition on Teleguz's behalf that garnered over 100,000 signatures.

Last fall, Teleguz's execution - which was originally set for April 13, 2016 - was paused as his defense made a final appeal and as prison leaders claimed they didn't have enough lethal injection drugs to carry executions out.

But a federal judge ruled in October that the affidavits from the witnesses recanting their previous testimony were unreliable.

Teleguz maintains that he is innocent, and his lawyers said in a statement that they will submit a petition to Gov. Terry McAuliffe seeking clemency.

WHSV has been following the Teleguz case for over a decade, and you can find much of our coverage in the Related Stories section of this article.

Ukrainian-born Teleguz attended Turner Ashby High School in Rockingham County.

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Virginia's attorney general is seeking an April execution date for Ivan Teleguz - a Rockingham County man convicted in 2006 of hiring another man to kill his ex-girlfriend, Stephanie Sipe, in Harrisonburg.

Attorney General Mark Herring's office has asked the Rockingham County Circuit Court to set an execution date of April 17 or April 25 for 38-year-old Ivan Teleguz. The Circuit Court will hold a hearing on Feb. 24 to set the date.

Teleguz was convicted in 2006 of hiring a man to kill Sipe, to get out of paying child support for their infant son.

Since then, two key prosecution witnesses have recanted, and a number of Teleguz advocates questioned what they saw as holes in evidence. The Virginia Capital Representation Resource Center launched a petition on Teleguz's behalf that garnered over 100,000 signatures.

Last fall, Teleguz's execution - which was originally set for April 13, 2016 - was paused as his defense made a final appeal and as prison leaders claimed they didn't have enough lethal injection drugs to carry executions out.

But a federal judge ruled in October that the affidavits from the witnesses recanting their previous testimony were unreliable.

Teleguz maintains that he is innocent, and appealed to Gov. Terry McAuliffe last fall for a grant of clemency.

Virginia's last execution was on Jan. 18.

WHSV has been following the Teleguz case for over a decade, and you can find much of our coverage in the Related Stories section of this article.

Marsha Garst, who has been the commonwealth's attorney for Rockinham County and Harrisonburg since 1999, was the key prosecutor in the 2006 case. Ukrainian-born Teleguz attended Turner Ashby High School in Rockingham County, Va.