I posted a diary about a half hour ago before fully understanding the facts...clouded over by strong emotions, as it involves a member of my family. I was confused, and now I'm just distraught. I thought that this was good news when my stepfather first called and told me-but it's actually a huge blow.
I don't want to seem evasive, and quite a few people saw it before I realized my error- so I am re-posting the original article:
Cheshire private investigator charged with bribing witness who recanted testimony in 1993 New Haven murder case (read the warrant)
NEW HAVEN — A murder case with numerous twists, took another spin Monday as an investigator working to free two men imprisoned for the killings, has himself been arrested.
Gerald “Jerry” O’Donnell, 67, of Cheshire was charged with witness tampering and bribery in connection with the George Gould and Ronald Taylor habeas corpus cases.
Gould and Taylor were sentenced to 80 years each in the killing of Eugenio Deleon Vega in 1993 in his Grand Aveue bodega.
In 2010, following a habeas court hearing, Superior Court Judge Stanley Fuger Jr. concluded that the men had suffered a “manifest injustice” and he ordered them freed from prison.
That decision, however, was overturned by the state Supreme Court, which found Fuger had misapplied the legal standard to overturn two convictions and it ordered a new habeas trial.
Ironically, Fuger was convinced of Gould and Taylor’s innocence when witness Doreen Stiles, who was key to the prosecution’s case, recanted her testimony in which she had implicated the two men in the killing.
Now Stiles is saying she changed her original testimony because of pressure from O’Donnell, who allegedly bought her a television and a stereo, gave her cash and promised her some portion of any wrongful incarceration settlement with the state, if the men were ultimately freed from prison.
“What can I say?,” attorney Joseph Visone, who represents Gould, said when reached by phone and told that O’Donnell had been arrested. “My heart goes out to him.”
In another twist, Visone said he received certain information in a closed door hearing in the case in Superior Court in Vernon a few weeks ago that moved him to seek permission to withdraw from the case.
I have talked about my uncle Ronald Taylor on numerous occasions here-first in my diary #TooMuchDoubt-The Story of Troy Anthony Davis:
Troy’s case is one I have struggled with. It hits very close to home for me, because of my experience with my own family- seeing my own loved one languish in prison, convicted of a crime he did not commit based on the thinnest of evidence. A case that is eerily similar to Troy's, and has been cited as a prime example of why we should not have the death penalty. Watching him be set free only to end up, in a stunning reversal of fortune, arrested once again and now facing another trial as he lies dying in a hospital bed. The “justice” system in this country is often cruel, no matter what side of the law you fall on.
And of course everyone is using this as proof that he is a murderer, so my family is going to get dragged through the mud. Already I'm seeing all the racist comments piling up.
This is a very difficult time for my family. We fully believe in Ron's innocence-and believe there is an inherent conflict of interest here. If the case falls apart, the DA will have egg all over it's face and is facing a multi-million dollar lawsuit.
We would like to have the Department of Justice come in, and get to the bottom of all of this. There is a lot more to this story. At some point, I'll put it all together into a coherent diary but right now I just don't have it in me.
Whatever the truth is-it needs to come out.
In the meantime, this is personal so if there is anyone who wants to come here and be an asshole, please don't. He hasn't even been gone a year and we loved him very much.
Thanks.
10:44 AM PT: I appreciate all of the kind words and support, but I don't want this on the rec-list...I hope that makes sense. There are just other diaries that deserve to be on there much more than this one. And like I said-this is really hard for my family. I think we need to deal with this privately, for the time being.
So respectfully I would ask that you do not recommend this diary :)
Thank you for understanding. You guys rock!
1:17 PM PT: Statement from my mom:
Here’s the thing, we all know there was “eyewitness” testimony in this case from two admitted heroin addicts in the throws of withdrawal after hours of interrogation. It seems perfectly clear that their testimony, if not coerced, was manipulated or molded by the detectives. It is a well known fact that members of law-enforcement often coach or pressure informants to make certain statements or strongly imply what they want them to say to make their case. This was a very, very high profile case in New Haven at the time, and the neighborhood wanted a conviction fast.
Now, it seems, the recantation of the original testimony of one of these woman (Doreen Stiles), may or may not have been as a result of pressure from an over-zealous private investigator convinced of these two men’s innocence. Either way, it truly doesn’t matter, because NEITHER WOMAN EVER SAID SHE WITNESSED THE CRIME!!!
In her original statement, Stiles said she saw Gould enter the store, heard a gunshot, and saw Gould and Taylor leave the murder scene. How this testimony, from an obviously unreliable witness, could ever be construed as evidence beyond reasonable doubt that Ronald and George committed what amounted to an execution, I’ll never understand. There must have been more evidence, you would think, right? Fingerprints? DNA? Motive? Prior arrests with similar MO? No, actually not. Here’s what they had:
FINGERPRINTS:
There were fingerprints found on the door handle of the safe in the victim’s store, next to where he was killed
• Found NOT to be Ron or George’s fingerprints
• Police never checked the prints against the national database
DNA:
There was DNA found on the rope used to tie the victim’s hands before he was killed, execution style
• Found NOT to be Ron’s or George’s DNA
• Police never checked the DNA in the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) databank
MOTIVE:
If money to buy drugs was George and Ron’s motive to commit this crime, then why were thousands of dollars and a gold watch left at the scene? Would they take the time to tie the victim’s hands with rope and tape his mouth shut with duct tape before killing him execution style – then leave all of the money and valuables behind?
But wait, there was a motive. The victim’s own son, Carlos Deleon, had embezzled $50,000 from his father’s business bank account. The victim had threatened to call the police if he didn’t return it.
PRIOR ARRESTS:
Neither men, by their own admission, were saints at the time of the murder. George had just been released from prison, and although Ronald had no prior arrests, both men admitted to petty theft in support of their drug addiction. George was well known by the New Haven police, and they were not big fans. The fact that he had just gotten out of prison may have played a very big part in why they looked at him to begin with. Ron had just met George the day before, and therefore was guilty by association. The “eyewitnesses” didn’t know either of the men, until, of course, they were presented with their pictures by the police.
Carlos Deleon, the victim’s father who was embezzling from his own father’s business, in fact, had a criminal record of his own: “Injury or risk of injury to or impairing morals of children”, or in simple terms HE WAS A CONVICTED PEDOPHILE!!! He was released from prison in 2003, in plenty of time to embezzle from his father and commit this very, very personal murder to save his skin.
MO:
What is the typical MO when you’re looking to score some cash from a shop owner? Storm through the door, point a gun and say “give me all your money, fast”, right? Or do you somehow get him in the back room, tie him up, duct tape his mouth, then walk out the door empty handed?
On the other hand, who kills people execution style? Someone who has a vendetta against the victim? Someone who’s already perpetrating a crime against the victim? Someone who has no moral values (i.e. able to sexually assault a child)?
Honestly, there is no way that these two men should ever have been convicted, beyond a reasonable doubt, in the first place. Shame on the jurors, shame on the prosecution and the witnesses, and shame on the system itself for letting that happen. I applaud Judge Fuger who in 2010 moved to reverse Ron and George’s convictions and sentences saying “It is now an inescapable conclusion that a manifest injustice has been done to these two men.” It goes without saying that if this decision had been upheld, then City of New Haven would be liable for two very serious wrongful incarceration suits, not to mention the ultimate disgrace. Small wonder the prosecutor will stop at nothing to discredit the private detective who has dedicated the last several years to proving them wrong!