Forensic Connections - The Getaway Car
12:24pm. John Egan, a NYSP Forensic Investigator out of Albany, takes the stand.
-We see photographs of the blue vehicle that crashed at the Kirkland Byrne Dairy. Egan testifies that the vehicle was analyzed at "the lab". Back window was shattered.
-We see a photograph of the driver's side floor and seat. A pellet gun is there. So is a bullet casing. Egan testifies that jewelry was found throughout the vehicle. We see additional shattered glass and an unfired bullet on a rear seat. Red stains that appear to be blood are pointed out.
UPDATE:
-A bag located on a back seat is seen in a photograph. We also see black gloves. The bag appears to be filled with plastic bags, envelopes, and jewelry. Egan testifies it was "pretty well filled." Diamonds, rings, pieces of jewelry in need of repair, sales slips with the name Lennon's W.B. Wilcox Jewelers were discovered among the contents.
-12:49pm. We are seeing a parade of photographs that link the car to the jewelry store robbery. We're up to People's Exhibit #170.
-We see photographs of the blue vehicle that crashed at the Kirkland Byrne Dairy. Egan testifies that the vehicle was analyzed at "the lab". Back window was shattered.
-We see a photograph of the driver's side floor and seat. A pellet gun is there. So is a bullet casing. Egan testifies that jewelry was found throughout the vehicle. We see additional shattered glass and an unfired bullet on a rear seat. Red stains that appear to be blood are pointed out.
UPDATE:
-A bag located on a back seat is seen in a photograph. We also see black gloves. The bag appears to be filled with plastic bags, envelopes, and jewelry. Egan testifies it was "pretty well filled." Diamonds, rings, pieces of jewelry in need of repair, sales slips with the name Lennon's W.B. Wilcox Jewelers were discovered among the contents.
-12:49pm. We are seeing a parade of photographs that link the car to the jewelry store robbery. We're up to People's Exhibit #170.
posted by Andy Jenks - WKTV at
12:24 PM
24 Comments:
healy and his lawyer both know hes guilty along with everyone else. he should just stand up and say i'm guilty u got me do what u need to do to me.its really annoying how him and his half of a brain for a lawyer can sit there and smile and laugh over this like its no big deal what if it was her family would be a different story then.i feel so sorry for the corr family.she sure doesnt act like a professional for sure.as always following the story from east tennessee.
I am just amazed out how the defense lawyer wants to portray the police agencies as incompetent during their evidence collecting process. The defendent got caught with "his hand in cookie jar" - end of case in my opinion.
u are definetly right but its just the process they have to go through by means of the law.i'm sure many many people would have just rather shot we'll say the fake aka mr.healy since thats not his real name.but by law we cant just do that even though it should have never made it to trial this far.they should of had the right to blow his head off as soon as he was handcuffed.
I totally understand "due process", but I am angered by the defense lawyer's attempt to portray these law enforcement officers as incompetent. My grandfather was a NY State Trooper for more than 20 years and it saddens me to think this defendent might go unpunished if the defense can "trick" the jury into believing that the evidence was mishandled and/or mislabeled.
i dont see that happening,i dont see the death sentence either like i have read post stating he should get,well he should get it but on second degree murder wont happen not in a million years.hes done he knows he done and just better keep thinking its a joke cause when it comes to a verdict he is getting time and losts of it just for robbery alone.
Being devil's advocate here, but I think Wittman is trying to defend him the best she can. Wasn't she appointment by the court? I know she's from Utica- I don't agree with her tactics either, but she's just trying to do her job.
beleive it or not i think shes what they called a court appointed lawyerand i also think she was part of the da side of the law at one time.she knows hes guilty its like a plor or skit she has to go along with it.theres no way the jurors are going to let him off.
The defense lawyer is disgusting! What are they constantly smirking at and laughing at? Gross.
i have no clue makes ya wanna smack it off her face.i think she really thinks she has something going for healy all shes doing is buying time.
I don't think we can start berating the defense lawyer. She is just doing her job. After all, wasn't she assigned this case?
I agree, sleazy or not that is her job and if it wasn't her - it would be someone else. Is her demeanor exactly professional? I would say no, but does it make or break the case - no, that will be the facts derived from the testimony and evidence.
The "laughing and joking" is part of the act. They are trying to soften the jury and make this animal look human in their eyes. Lord knows he wont take the stand in his defense so they will never hear him speak. And yes she was once in the DA's office as a prosecuter and "ran off" with one of her clients she was defending on drug charges. She is in fact doing her job and like her or not she is good at what she does. This is the criminal justive system that we elect to have so you need to live with it, like it or not.
No the defense attorney was not appointed she took the case and cash that goes with it. Healy and his co-horts have a ton of money from their crimes. Wittman represents the worst criminals in the area. Her tactics are to make the police look bad. Her tactis don't work, she will lose and someday pay for this in hell.
Wittman knows that Healy is guilty (no question) she is trying to do the job she chose to do but remember that she is the one that has to sleep at night knowing that the person she is defending was involved in taken a Husband, Father, Son, and Brother, & Etc... She has to live with that! After the trial is finished and Healy is found guilty then what will she do, 99% of the people around here will have no respect for her, the only one that does is Healy... As far as Healy he is not a MAN, all he is, scared person that is buying time and even though he may not of pulled the trigger he is still responsible! He is a Cold, heartless individual that cant admit what he did. He can go rot somewhere....
Wittman will sleep like a baby after this. She has nothing but contempt for police officers. Her only court room tactics are the police are lying and they plant envidence. It is evident in all her cases. After the trial is over she will go back to representing the worst drug dealers in the county. Getting paid in cash or trade. Believe me she reaps what she sows.
Apparently, Esquire Rebecca Wittman has been diligent in her duties as a Criminal Defense Attorney and has shaken those who testified in today's Healy trial, especially with regard to the chain-of-custody in handling evidence.
It's no surprise that evidence may have been manufactured, as the last ditch attempt to connect Healy with the robbery, since no one was able to identify him at Lennon's Jewelers. And it's no surprise that evidence was tainted and manufactured because law enforcement in neighboring counties have been convicted of this same type of criminal act.
It's also no surprise that many cases have been overturned by the Supreme Court for failing to comply with the mandates of the 14th Amendment and Due Process.
If a conviction is the verdict that is handed down, the victory will be short lived, and as only Rebecca knows, as an experience, qualified, honorable, dedicated criminal defense attorney, her job here is to preserve the issues for an appeal.........she has done a fine job in doing that.
The slam dunk that probably would have been the prosecutor's dream, has been jeopardized by law enforcement and the shady tactics in the court room, that Attorney Wittman is not responsible for.
The Corr family can thank law enforcement who couldn't hold up under the cross examination of Attorney Wittman, which may be the ultimate betrayal...they lost their son and may not be able to savor justice because of the blatant disregard for Constitutional law and the mishandling of crucial evidence in a case so important to the community.
The New York State Police Troop C scandal involved the fabrication of evidence used to convict suspects in New York by the New York State Police.
In April of 1993, Craig D. Harvey, a New York State Police trooper was charged with fabricating evidence. Harvey admitted he and another trooper lifted fingerprints from items the suspect, John Spencer, touched while in Troop C headquarters during booking. He attached the fingerprints to evidence cards and later claimed that he had pulled the fingerprints from the scene of the murder. The forged evidence was used during trial and John Spencer was sentenced to 50 years to life in prison.
The New York Times
July 30, 1993
Section B; Page 5
Police Investigation Supervisor Admits Faking Fingerprints
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In a widening scandal that has rocked the New York State Police, a lieutenant who supervised criminal investigations in seven upstate counties admitted yesterday that he had faked fingerprint evidence in three cases.
The lieutenant, Craig D. Harvey, also said in court in Delhi, N.Y., that he had been assisted in fabricating evidence by another lieutenant, Patrick O'Hara, who works out of state police headquarters in Albany supervising drug and organized-crime investigations.
Mr. who pleaded guilty yesterday in one case, was immediately dismissed from the force, and Lieutenant O'Hara, who has not been charged, was suspended without pay for 30 days pending an inquiry. Two other troopers had previously pleaded guilty in the scandal.
Taken together, yesterday's events painted a picture of almost routine fabrication of evidence in criminal cases in the identification unit of Troop C, based in Sidney, 65 miles southwest of Syracuse, beginning at least as far back as 1984. In general, officials said, investigators would use fabricated fingerprint evidence to build cases against people who had already been identified as suspects.
Another Arrest Expected
The scandal has already undermined several criminal convictions, and in one case, led to the dismissal of charges of being accessory to murder against a woman who prosecutors now say had been jailed for a crime she did not commit.
Nelson E. Roth, the special prosecutor appointed by Gov. Mario M. Cuomo to investigate the Troop C scandal, said yesterday that he expected "at least one additional arrest," apparently alluding to Lieutenant O'Hara.
"The whole affair is incredibly disheartening and unfortunately creates some unwarranted public scrutiny of the entire state police," added Mr. Roth, who said he believed that the scandal was limited to Troop C.
Just last month, Thomas A. Constantine, the superintendent of the state police, predicted that there would be no additional arrests. He was in New Jersey yesterday and not available for comment, said James V. Atkins, his spokesman.
In March, Mr. Constantine issued a sweeping series of changes in the rules governing evidence handling to prevent a repeat of the scandal.
Whole Identification Unit
Two other investigators from Troop C have admitted faking fingerprint evidence against suspects in various crimes. But Lieutenant Harvey was the highest-ranking officer to admit wrongdoing in the scandal, which now encompasses all five investigators who worked in Troop C's criminal identification unit between 1982 and 1992.
"What you have here is a very serious problem within a particular troop," said Richard Girgenti, the state's criminal justice director. "We're satisfied a complete review has been and is taking place."
But Mr. Girgenti said there was no way to know when the state police would have learned of the scandal if a former investigator, David L. Harding, had not bragged to a C.I.A. official during a job interview that he had faked fingerprint evidence to help win criminal convictions.
In the first of two court appearances yesterday, Lieutenant Harvey pleaded guilty in Delhi, in Delaware County, to faking fingerprints in a 1986 double murder, and admitted faking fingerprints in two burglaries dating from 1984. He agreed in a plea bargain to serve 2 1/2 to 7 1/2 years in prison.
Implicated by Friend
He also implicated Lieutenant O'Hara, a close friend. Both men are 17-year veterans of the force and joined Troop C in 1982. When they were promioted to lieutenant in 1989, Lieutenant Harvey was made a supervisor of criminal investigations in Troop C, and Lieutenant O'Hara was assigned to Albany.
In a separate proceeding yesterday afternoon in Tioga County Court in Owego, Investigator David M. Beers, who pleaded not guilty in May to evidence-tampering charges, pleaded not guilty to new charges that he faked a fingerprint on a machine gun during a 1991 narcotics investigation.
As second in command of Troop C's bureau of criminal investigation, Lieutenant Harvey directly supervised 40 investigators, including Mr. Beers, Mr. Harding and Robert M. Lishansky. Mr. Harding and Mr. Lishansky have pleaded guilty to evidence tampering in two dozen criminal cases and are serving prison terms.
The 4,000-member state police force handles most serious crimes in rural upstate New York, giving critical forensic and laboratory aid to local police and sheriff's departments.
Problem With Confession
The department plays a much less visible role in New York City and on Long Island, but it recently drew attention with the June arrest of Joel Rifkin, an unemployed landscaper who the authorities say has admitted killing 17 women. He was picked up after troopers discovered a body in the back of his pickup truck during a routine traffic stop.
Even in that case, though, the state police has drawn criticism for failing to make either video or audio recordings of Mr. Rifkin's confessions or to have him sign a written confession.
The state police learned from Federal officials last summer that Mr. Harding had bragged in a 1991 job interview with the C.I.A. about faking fingerprints. Mr. Harding pleaded guilty last December to fabricating fingerprint evidence in four cases, and his partner, Mr. Lishansky, pleaded guilty in April to evidence tampering in 21 cases.
Also in April, Mr. Harvey became the third trooper charged in the scandal when prosecutors accused him of lying when he claimed to have discovered a murder suspect's fingerprint at a crime scene. In court yesterday, Lieutenant Harvey said he and Lieutenant O'Hara lifted the suspect's fingerprint from equipment in Troop C headquarters after the suspect was booked, and later claimed they had found the fingerprint at the scene of an execution-style double murder.
The suspect, John Spencer, was sentenced to 50 years to life in prison, but has asked the judge to void his conviction because the faked fingerprint was part of the case against him.
"The terrible thing is that the fingerprint wasn't crucial to the case," said Malcolm C. Hughes, the former Delaware County District Attorney who prosecuted the double murder.
Troopers Under a Cloud
All five investigators in the identification unit of Troop C in Sidney, N.Y., from 1982 to 1992 have been implicated in an evidence-tampering scandal.
DAVID L. HARDING A former investigator and 7-year veteran of the force, was sentenced Dec. 16, 1992, to 4 to 12 years in prison and fined $20,000 for fabricating evidence in four cases.
ROBERT M. LISHANSKY A former investigator and 11-year veteran, was sentenced June 10 to 6 to 18 years in prison for faking evidence in 21 cases.
CRAIG D. HARVEY A lieutenant who once headed the identification unit and was a 16-year veteran, admitted on July 29 that he had fabricated evidence in three cases, and agreed to serve 2 1/2 to 7 years in prison.
DAVID M. BEERS An investigator and 15-year veteran, pleaded not guilty on May 5 and on July 29 to fabricating evidence in two cases.
PATRICK O'HARA A lieutenant and 16-year veteran, was suspended July 29 pending an investigation into Mr. Harvey's allegations that Lieutenant O'Hara helped fake evidence.
Becky nice article, but irrelevent. 1993? Give it up, you are going to lose. Then you can go back to your wonderful list of clients that are the scourge of Oneida County and most probably on your Christmas list.
Just to clarify my previous post..I am not implying that the State Police tampered with evidence in this case, but wanted to illustrate that things of this nature has happened. If the haphazard collection of evidence and the absence of a credible chain-of-custody did occur in this case, it happened prior to getting to the State Police lab.
I am not Becky......but thanks for the compliment!
P.S. I am on her Christmas list!
You probably are on her Christmas list!!!
To make the assumption or accusation that evidence was fabricated without hearing ALL of the TESTIMONY and all of the witnesses is improper at best.
Possibly evidence was mishandled, I am not convinced even of that. but fabricated or mishandled - I know better- The New Hartford Police Dept is one of the finest law enforcement agencies in the area. They are extremely well trained and are under the leadership of a wonderful, upstanding Chief. They suffered an enormous loss that night in a time frame that took less than 15 minutes to unfold! It is so sad that all of these comments are hurting such fine people even more than the pain they will live with for the rest of their lives.
It is truly disgusting that some have chosen to stoop so low. Lets pray for a speedy conviction. The defense lawyer is a joke and does not show regard to law enforcement due to the fact that they all know she is a dirtbag at best!
Geez, wasn't Trooper Berry who testified today from Troop C, in Syndey.......wow imagine!
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