Hubert L. Michael Jr.

A death-row inmate who kidnapped, raped and murdered a 16-year-old Dillsburg-area girl in 1993 is scheduled to die by lethal injection on Nov. 8, according to state Department of Corrections records.

Gov. Tom Corbett on Tuesday signed a death warrant for Hubert L. Michael Jr., who murdered Trista Eng of Franklin Township.

It's the third death warrant Pennsylvania governors have signed for Michael, formerly of Lemoyne. Tom Ridge signed one July 31, 1996, and Ed Rendell signed a second on April 5, 2004.

Both times, Michael's execution was stayed pending further appeal.

For years, Michael maintained he wanted to die, but changed his mind in 2004 -- just days before his scheduled execution.

Federal public defenders have argued he was not mentally competent when he pleaded guilty to first-degree murder on Oct. 11, 1994.

Confession: Michael told his former defense attorney, chief public defender Bruce Blocher, that he went to the home of Eng and her mother to answer an advertisement about a chair for sale.

He told Blocher that when Eng answered the door in a Hardee's uniform, he made the decision to force her to have sex with him. While there, he stole some electrical cords from the house without Eng knowing, the attorney previously testified.

Michael stopped to offer Eng a ride as she was walking along Route 15 to her job at the Dillsburg Hardee's on July 12, 1993.

She accepted, and Michael kidnapped her.

At some point during the ride, Michael stopped the car and used the electrical cords to tie up Eng, then drove her to state game lands in Warrington Township, according to Blocher.

Raped: He raped her, put a bag over her head and shot her three times, Blocher has said, then hid her body in a wooded area.

Blocher revealed details of Michael's confession to him when called to the stand during a 1997 appeals hearing in the case.

Michael fled the state 10 days after killing Eng. At the time, he was free on bail for a Lancaster County rape charge, according to Corbett's office.

Captured: He was captured July 27, 1993, in Utah, at which point police found the murder weapon in the car he was using, officials said.

He was charged with Eng's homicide in late August 1993, after her body was found by Michael's brother and other family members. Michael confessed the murder to his brother.

In November 1993, Michael escaped from Lancaster County Prison but was captured in New Orleans in March 1994, according to the Department of Corrections.

He was later sentenced to 10 to 20 years for the Lancaster County rape, according to court records.

Michael is being held at the state prison at Greene.

His current defense attorney at the federal community defender's office in Philadelphia could not immediately be reached for comment.

-- Staff writer Liz Evans Scolforo can also be reached at levans@yorkdispatch.com.