OPINION OF THE COURT
ROBERTS, Justice.
Following a trial by jury, appellee Dale Barry was found guilty of murder of the second degree, robbery, theft, and conspiracy in connection with the stabbing death of Oliver Jack Schugardt and the theft of Schugardt’s car in Downingtown, Chester County, on February 5, 1977. At trial, over defense objection, the Commonwealth introduced into evidence an inculpatory statement that appellee had given to police following his arrest in Niskayuna, New York on February 8, 1977. On post-trial motions, the Court of Common Pleas of Chester County sitting en banc entered an order granting a new trial on the ground that the statement had been erroneously admitted.1 Appellant, District Attorney’s Office of Chester County, filed this direct appeal. We affirm.2
Writing for the court en banc in support of its order granting a new trial, the trial judge determined that the [112]*112admission of the challenged statement at trial had been erroneous on two grounds. First, appellee, who was sixteen years of age at the time of his inculpatory statement, had not been provided an opportunity to consult with an adult interested in his welfare prior to waiving his Miranda rights, see Commonwealth v. McCutchen, 463 Pa. 90, 343 A.2d 669 (1975); second, the Commonwealth had not introduced evidence from which it could be concluded under the “totality of the circumstances” that appellee had understood and knowingly and voluntarily waived his Miranda rights. See Fare v. Michael C., 442 U.S. 707, 99 S.Ct. 2560, 61 L.Ed.2d 197 (1979).
Appellant challenges both of these grounds as a basis for a new trial. Because appellee was arrested and questioned by New York police, who were not obliged under New York law to provide appellee with an opportunity to consult with an interested adult, appellant argues that the failure to provide such an opportunity should not bar admission of the statement. Appellant also argues that even if the lack of an opportunity to consult with an interested adult should have resulted in the statement’s inadmissibility at trial, this Court should abolish the “interested-adult” rule. We do not address these arguments, because appellant has not established its threshold challenge to the court’s determination that the evidence fails to establish a valid waiver of appellee’s Miranda rights under the “totality of the circumstances.”
At the suppression hearing and at trial the Commonwealth presented evidence regarding the circumstances surrounding the custodial interrogation of appellee. Police testimony established that five police officers arrested appellee at 6:00 p.m. at the home of his girlfriend’s parents, where appellee had been staying for a few days. Appellee was informed that he was being arrested as a “fugitive from [113]*113justice.” He was then handcuffed and transported to the police station in a police car driven by Detective Sergeant Nitchman. During the drive, Detective Pasquariello read Miranda warnings to appellee from a card,3 but did not have any discussion with appellee or elicit any response. Upon arrival at the police station, appellee was taken directly to the detectives’ office. His interrogation began at 6:20 p.m. and continued for an hour and fifteen minutes, until 7:35 p.m. Prior to questioning appellee, Detective Sergeant Nitchman removed the handcuffs and told appellee “that he could sit down.” Appellee was offered coffee, which he refused. Appellee was told that “he had been arrested as a fugitive from justice and that it was in connection with a homicide investigation.” The police asked appellee his age and appellee told them he was sixteen. There was no discussion of appellee’s Miranda rights. However, Detective Pasquariello testified that, before taking appellee’s statement,
“We took out — I gave him a blank — a form, which is the rights again, and asked him to, before we take a statement, he would have to read it and sign that waiver of rights.
Sj! He # 5¡S 5¡C 5£
And when he completed it, I asked him if he read it and he said yes.
Then I said, would you sign, and he did.”4
In Fare v. Michael C., 442 U.S. 707, 99 S.Ct. 2560, 61 L.Ed.2d 197 (1979), the Supreme Court of the United States [114]*114held that, as a matter of federal constitutional law, an accused’s waiver of his Miranda rights may be deemed valid only if “the totality of the circumstances surrounding the interrogation” demonstrates that “the accused in fact knowingly and voluntarily decided to forgo his rights to remain silent and to have the assistance of counsel. Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. [436], 475-477, 86 S.Ct. [1602], 1628-1629 [(1966)].” 442 U.S. at 725, 99 S.Ct. at 2572. The Supreme Court stated:
“The totality approach permits — indeed, it mandates — inquiry into all the circumstances surrounding the interrogation. This includes evaluation of the juvenile’s age, experience, education, background, and intelligence, and into whether he has the capacity to understand the warnings given him, the nature of his Fifth Amendment rights, and the consequences of waiving those rights.”
Id.
As support for its position that the record establishes a valid waiver of appellee’s Miranda rights, appellant relies upon the non-coercive aspects of the interrogation, such as the lack of any evidence that promises or threats were made to induce appellee’s statement and the fact that appellee’s physical condition was not impaired by fatigue, drugs, or alcohol. However, the non-coercive nature of the interrogation does not establish that appellee had “the capacity to understand the warnings given him, the nature of his Fifth Amendment rights, and the consequences of waiving those rights.” As the court en banc observed in granting a new trial on the basis of the lack of evidence of a knowing and intelligent waiver,
[115]*115“under the totality of the circumstances test, the admission of the statement was error. The trial record is barren as to the education of the accused, the knowledge of the accused as to the substance of the charge, whether the accused had prior contacts with the law (i.e., whether he had received and understood prior Miranda warnings) and the maturity of the accused as to his ability to understand and communicate intelligently. Fare v. Michael C., supra; West v. U.S., 399 F.2d 467 (5th Cir.1968); Com. v. Nelson, [488 Pa. 148, 411 A.2d 740 (1980) ] (Larsen, J., opinion in support of reversal).”
Appellant’s challenge to the accuracy of the court en banc’s review of the record, which alleges that the conclusions of the court en banc are contradicted by the findings of the suppression court, cannot prevail.
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OPINION OF THE COURT
ROBERTS, Justice.
Following a trial by jury, appellee Dale Barry was found guilty of murder of the second degree, robbery, theft, and conspiracy in connection with the stabbing death of Oliver Jack Schugardt and the theft of Schugardt’s car in Downingtown, Chester County, on February 5, 1977. At trial, over defense objection, the Commonwealth introduced into evidence an inculpatory statement that appellee had given to police following his arrest in Niskayuna, New York on February 8, 1977. On post-trial motions, the Court of Common Pleas of Chester County sitting en banc entered an order granting a new trial on the ground that the statement had been erroneously admitted.1 Appellant, District Attorney’s Office of Chester County, filed this direct appeal. We affirm.2
Writing for the court en banc in support of its order granting a new trial, the trial judge determined that the [112]*112admission of the challenged statement at trial had been erroneous on two grounds. First, appellee, who was sixteen years of age at the time of his inculpatory statement, had not been provided an opportunity to consult with an adult interested in his welfare prior to waiving his Miranda rights, see Commonwealth v. McCutchen, 463 Pa. 90, 343 A.2d 669 (1975); second, the Commonwealth had not introduced evidence from which it could be concluded under the “totality of the circumstances” that appellee had understood and knowingly and voluntarily waived his Miranda rights. See Fare v. Michael C., 442 U.S. 707, 99 S.Ct. 2560, 61 L.Ed.2d 197 (1979).
Appellant challenges both of these grounds as a basis for a new trial. Because appellee was arrested and questioned by New York police, who were not obliged under New York law to provide appellee with an opportunity to consult with an interested adult, appellant argues that the failure to provide such an opportunity should not bar admission of the statement. Appellant also argues that even if the lack of an opportunity to consult with an interested adult should have resulted in the statement’s inadmissibility at trial, this Court should abolish the “interested-adult” rule. We do not address these arguments, because appellant has not established its threshold challenge to the court’s determination that the evidence fails to establish a valid waiver of appellee’s Miranda rights under the “totality of the circumstances.”
At the suppression hearing and at trial the Commonwealth presented evidence regarding the circumstances surrounding the custodial interrogation of appellee. Police testimony established that five police officers arrested appellee at 6:00 p.m. at the home of his girlfriend’s parents, where appellee had been staying for a few days. Appellee was informed that he was being arrested as a “fugitive from [113]*113justice.” He was then handcuffed and transported to the police station in a police car driven by Detective Sergeant Nitchman. During the drive, Detective Pasquariello read Miranda warnings to appellee from a card,3 but did not have any discussion with appellee or elicit any response. Upon arrival at the police station, appellee was taken directly to the detectives’ office. His interrogation began at 6:20 p.m. and continued for an hour and fifteen minutes, until 7:35 p.m. Prior to questioning appellee, Detective Sergeant Nitchman removed the handcuffs and told appellee “that he could sit down.” Appellee was offered coffee, which he refused. Appellee was told that “he had been arrested as a fugitive from justice and that it was in connection with a homicide investigation.” The police asked appellee his age and appellee told them he was sixteen. There was no discussion of appellee’s Miranda rights. However, Detective Pasquariello testified that, before taking appellee’s statement,
“We took out — I gave him a blank — a form, which is the rights again, and asked him to, before we take a statement, he would have to read it and sign that waiver of rights.
Sj! He # 5¡S 5¡C 5£
And when he completed it, I asked him if he read it and he said yes.
Then I said, would you sign, and he did.”4
In Fare v. Michael C., 442 U.S. 707, 99 S.Ct. 2560, 61 L.Ed.2d 197 (1979), the Supreme Court of the United States [114]*114held that, as a matter of federal constitutional law, an accused’s waiver of his Miranda rights may be deemed valid only if “the totality of the circumstances surrounding the interrogation” demonstrates that “the accused in fact knowingly and voluntarily decided to forgo his rights to remain silent and to have the assistance of counsel. Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. [436], 475-477, 86 S.Ct. [1602], 1628-1629 [(1966)].” 442 U.S. at 725, 99 S.Ct. at 2572. The Supreme Court stated:
“The totality approach permits — indeed, it mandates — inquiry into all the circumstances surrounding the interrogation. This includes evaluation of the juvenile’s age, experience, education, background, and intelligence, and into whether he has the capacity to understand the warnings given him, the nature of his Fifth Amendment rights, and the consequences of waiving those rights.”
Id.
As support for its position that the record establishes a valid waiver of appellee’s Miranda rights, appellant relies upon the non-coercive aspects of the interrogation, such as the lack of any evidence that promises or threats were made to induce appellee’s statement and the fact that appellee’s physical condition was not impaired by fatigue, drugs, or alcohol. However, the non-coercive nature of the interrogation does not establish that appellee had “the capacity to understand the warnings given him, the nature of his Fifth Amendment rights, and the consequences of waiving those rights.” As the court en banc observed in granting a new trial on the basis of the lack of evidence of a knowing and intelligent waiver,
[115]*115“under the totality of the circumstances test, the admission of the statement was error. The trial record is barren as to the education of the accused, the knowledge of the accused as to the substance of the charge, whether the accused had prior contacts with the law (i.e., whether he had received and understood prior Miranda warnings) and the maturity of the accused as to his ability to understand and communicate intelligently. Fare v. Michael C., supra; West v. U.S., 399 F.2d 467 (5th Cir.1968); Com. v. Nelson, [488 Pa. 148, 411 A.2d 740 (1980) ] (Larsen, J., opinion in support of reversal).”
Appellant’s challenge to the accuracy of the court en banc’s review of the record, which alleges that the conclusions of the court en banc are contradicted by the findings of the suppression court, cannot prevail. In concluding that appellee had “knowingly and intelligently and voluntarily waived [his Miranda] rights,” the suppression court relied solely upon the presence of appellee’s signature at the bottom of the “Waiver of Rights” form. As correctly found by the court en banc, this conclusion was erroneous as a matter of law, for appellee’s signature does not, by itself, provide a sufficient basis from which to conclude that appellee made a knowing, intelligent and voluntary waiver. See North Carolina v. Butler, 441 U.S. 369, 99 S.Ct. 1755, 60 L.Ed.2d 286 (1979); Commonwealth v. Bussey, 486 Pa. 221, 404 A.2d 1309 (1979).
Nor is appellant correct in its allegation that the conclusions of the court en banc are without support on the record. Neither at the suppression hearing nor at trial did the Commonwealth present sufficient evidence of “all the circumstances surrounding the interrogation” to warrant the conclusion that appellee’s waiver of his Miranda rights was knowing and intelligent.
The Commonwealth attempts to cure deficiencies in the trial record noted by the court en banc through evidence presented at bail hearings conducted both before and after appellee’s trial. The Commonwealth’s reliance on such evi[116]*116dence, however, is misplaced. In order to have appellee’s statement properly admitted into evidence, the Commonwealth had the “heavy burden” of demonstrating to the trial court that appellee’s waiver of his privilege against self-incrimination and his right to retained or appointed counsel constituted “an intentional relinquishment or abandonment of a known right or privilege.” Johnson v. Zerbst, 304 U.S. 458, 464, 58 S.Ct. 1019, 1023, 82 L.Ed. 1461 (1938); Miranda v. Arizona, supra, 384 U.S. at 475, 86 S.Ct. at 1628; Fare v. Michael C., supra, 442 U.S. at 724, 99 S.Ct. at 2571. See generally Commonwealth v. Tyler, 468 Pa. 193, 360 A.2d 617 (1976); Commonwealth v. Barnette, 445 Pa. 288, 285 A.2d 141 (1971). Moreover, even if the evidence presented at the bail hearings had been presented to the trial court, that evidence — the fact that appellee had completed the ninth grade of school and had once been adjudicated a delinquent — would not have been sufficient to establish that appellee’s waiver of his Miranda rights was knowing and intelligent. Unlike in Fare v. Michael C., supra, where “the police officers conducting the interrogation took care to ensure that [the accused] understood his rights . . . and ascertained that [the accused] understood those rights,” 442 U.S. at 726, 99 S.Ct. at 2572, on this record it cannot be concluded that appellee understood the Miranda rights as written on the form that he was told to read or that he understood the consequences of signing his name under the “Waiver of Rights” portion of the form. As Detective Pasquariello testified, appellee was simply handed the form and told by the police that “he would have to read it and sign that waiver of rights.”
As the record supports the determination of the court en banc that appellee is entitled to a new trial, the order of the Court of Common Pleas of Chester County is affirmed.
Order affirmed.
McDERMOTT, J., files a dissenting opinion in which LARSEN and HUTCHINSON, JJ., join.
HUTCHINSON, J., files a dissenting opinion in which LARSEN and McDERMOTT, JJ., join.