Video footage before Uber driver's killing in Monroeville can be used in court, judge rules

An Allegheny County judge this week said that the Pitcairn man accused of killing an Uber driver did not have the right to privacy inside the car where he attacked the woman.

Calvin Crew, 24, is scheduled for trial in the death penalty case in January before Common Pleas Judge Edward J. Borkowski.

Crew is accused of killing Christina Spicuzza on Feb. 10, 2022, after he ordered a ride from her through his girlfriend’s Uber account.

Police said that Spicuzza, 38, of Turtle Creek, picked up Crew in Pitcairn around 9:15 p.m. As she neared the drop-off location about 15 minutes later, police said Crew pulled out a handgun, grabbed her by the hair and held the weapon to the back of her head.

Crew ordered her to stop in a wooded area along Rosecrest Drive in Monroeville, where police said he killed her.

Spicuzza’s body was found two days later.

As part of the case against Crew, investigators said they recovered the car’s dashboard camera, which captured the moments leading up to Spicuzza’s death.

His defense attorneys argued at a hearing in September that the in-car camera violates Pennsylvania’s wiretap statute, which requires people to be notified that they are being recorded.

Public defender Andy Howard said Crew never gave consent to be recorded.

Assistant District Attorney Emma Schoedel told the court that it would have been clear from inside the vehicle that the camera, which had two lenses — one facing outside and the other into the passenger compartment — was recording.

It had a display screen that was visible inside the car.

In findings issued Tuesday, Borkowski said Crew did not prove that he had an expectation of privacy inside the car.

“Further, given the totality of the circumstances, it is clear that the defendant had actual knowledge he was being recorded,” Borkowski wrote. “The camera’s display and (Crew’s) removal and disposal of the camera all establish the defendant’s knowledge of the recording device. As such, no notice was required.”

As part of the same court order, Borkowski denied several other motions by Crew, including one to suppress his police statement four days after Spicuzza was killed.

Crew was initially detained on an outstanding warrant accusing him of illegally trying to buy a gun. However, Crew was never prohibited from making the purchase, so the warrant was not valid. The defense argued that Crew should never have been detained.

In his findings, Borkowski said that law enforcement had an independent basis for detaining Crew for questioning in the homicide.

Further, he wrote, “defendant voluntarily came to the police station, was the person initiating the conversation about the unrelated warrant and voluntarily agreed to speak with the detectives regarding the homicide.”