Prominent Attorney Urges End To Grand Jury Investigation Into Girlfriend’s Death

By Tony Hanson

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – The secret grand jury investigation into the death of the girlfriend and paralegal of prominent Philadelphia attorney A. Charles Peruto Junior presumably continues, but there is a development.

A. Charles Peruto Junior has confirmed he sent a letter to the District Attorney, essentially urging the office to end the grand jury investigation into the death of Julia Law in his apartment in May, since the evidence points to an accidental death.

Investigators reported no signs of foul play at the scene, or evidence of trauma to the body, and Peruto was at the Jersey shore at the time the body was found by a maintenance worker.

Following the initial investigation and return of toxicology reports, which sources say showed a blood-alcohol level of what would be several times the legal limit for driving, the DA sent the case to a grand jury to investigate the circumstances of the death.

The death of the woman, who Peruto called his soulmate, and resulting investigation has hung over Peruto and his practice ever since.

Grand jury investigations are secret proceedings, and a spokeswoman for the DA would not comment when asked about the letter from Peruto.