Nicole Cadwalader, the 31 year old Ambler woman who brutally killed her grandmother on June 4th, 2018 with a baseball bat and frying pan, was formally arraigned today on murder-related charges in front of Judge Thomas C. Branca.

Montgomery County Court news reporter, Carl Hessler Jr. tweeted today that Cadwalader will not face the death penalty if convicted of first-degree murder. See Hessler’s tweet and video below:

Hessler also wrote a report from today’s arraignment in The Pottstown Mercury. Part of that article reads:

“After a review of the law and the factors that would give rise to it, we did not feel it was appropriate in this case,” Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Richard Bradbury Jr. said on Thursday after Nicole Ryan Cadwalader was formally arraigned on murder-related charges.

With the death penalty off the table, Cadwalader, 31, of the 100 block of South Chestnut Street, will face life imprisonment if convicted of first-degree murder in connection with the alleged June 4, 2018, fatal stabbing and beating of her grandmother, 68-year-old Sharon Burke inside their Ambler residence.

Cadwalader did not react as Bradbury informed Judge Thomas C. Branca about the decision.

Under state law, first-degree murder is punishable by either life imprisonment or death by lethal injection. It’s during a formal arraignment hearing that prosecutors must notify a judge about their intentions regarding the death penalty.

Read Carl Hessler’s entire article here.

Cadwalader’s lawyer did not reveal if Cadwalader will wage a mental infirmity defense strategy at trial. Cadwalader has already undergone several mental health evaluations and was determined competent to stand trial.

Judge Branca set the trial date for February 24, 2020.

Photo, Tweet and Video © Carl Hessler Jr. Montco. Court Reporter