Mothers embrace as Export man pleads guilty to Vandergrift woman’s murder
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Two mothers embraced as they shared a moment of grief and understanding Monday morning in a Westmoreland County courtroom.
Lisa Rodgers offered an apology for her son, who had just pleaded guilty for his role in the violent murder of Beverly Richason’s daughter nearly six years ago.
“I know you are suffering, too,” Richason said as the women hugged while the judge ordered 30-year-old Devin Akamichi to serve up to 40 years in prison for his role in the brutal 2017 murder of Ronny Cable.
Akamichi of Export pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of third-degree murder. Prosecutors said he participated in luring the 34-year-old Vandergrift woman into the woods as part of a robbery plot. Police claim Walter Cable, who is not related to his victim, hit her in the head at least 10 times with a hammer and then choked her to death. The men spent the next 10 hours burning her remains in a secluded wooded area near Keystone State Park, according to investigators.
Akamichi eventually confessed to police that he was involved in the murder and directed officers to where the woman’s charred remains were found. Akamichi also served as the prosecution’s key witness against Walter Cable, 30, of Greensburg during his 2021 trial in which he was convicted of first-degree murder.
In his testimony, Akamichi claimed he did not initially know of the murder and robbery plot, was scared to intervene to stop her killing and was threatened with harm if he failed to participate in the scheme to burn Ronny Cable’s remains.
At trial, Akamichi claimed Ronny Cable was a former girlfriend with whom he became reacquainted when he and Walter Cable crossed paths with her at a Greensburg gas station on Feb. 14, 2017. They socialized together that night at her Vandergrift home and again two nights later before driving out to a bar in Oklahoma Borough just hours before she was killed.
On Monday, Akamichi read a short statement in which he apologized for his role in the murder.
“I am beyond horrified by this tragedy. I cared for Ronny very much, and I am very much ashamed for my actions. I told my lawyer I want to plead guilty at any costs so Ronny’s death would not be brought up again in court. I am sorry from the bottom of my heart,” Akamichi said.
Common Pleas Judge Tim Krieger last year rejected a proposed plea in which Akamichi would be sentenced to six to 20 years in prison. Prosecutors did not recommend a sentence as part of the final plea deal in which a charge of first-degree murder, an offense that carries a mandatory life prison sentence, was dismissed.
The judge ordered Akamichi to serve 20 to 40 years in prison.
“What an utter waste,” Krieger said as he imposed the sentence. “The court recognizes that without Mr. Akamichi’s cooperation it is likely no one would be held accountable for what happened that night, and Ms. Cable’s remains would never be found.
“I do hope you make something of your life. Ronny Cable will not have that opportunity.”
Richason, who spoke out in anger during Walter Cable’s sentencing hearing last year, did not testify against Akamichi but offered support to his mother as she told the judge about her son’s life struggles and his attempts at redemption.
Rodgers described her son as a man with the soul of an older gentleman who has found God while in jail as he awaited disposition of his criminal case. Rodgers then looked to Richason, seated in the courtroom’s front row, to offer an apology for her son’s actions.
“I know what you are going to say. Thank you,” Richason said.