STORY: (Digital edition); "Star exclusive: How a pacemaker proved accused killer's innocence," by reporter Jim Rankin, published by the Toronto Star on February 14, 2015.
SUB-HEADING: (Digital edition);"Frank Cara, who was accused of killing his father, is suing Durham police after time data retrieved from his father's pacemake backed up an alibi that he was with family when his father died."
STORY: (Print edition); "Star Exclusive: A father's murder, and a telltale heartbeat."
SUB-HEADING : (Print edition); "Son who was jailed sues Durham police after data from pacemaker that backed his alibi went ignored."
PHOTO CAPTION: "Frank Cara, who was accused of killing his father, is suing Durham police after time data retrieved from his father's pacemaker backed up an alibi that he was with family when his father died."
GIST: "Stabbed five times, Claudio Cara lay dying on the kitchen floor of his Oshawa home. The final thrust of the knife — one Cara preferred for slicing Italian sweets — was likely the fatal one. The blade protruded from the 56-year-old’s chest, the handle missing. The business of estimating exact time of death is inaccurate. But in this case, the precise answer as to when Cara’s heart last beat lay within him — in data captured by a pacemaker. The data showed Cara’s heart stopped beating on Feb. 15, 2012, at 10:35 a.m., and would prove crucial in a circumstantial case in which Durham regional police were convinced Cara’s son Frank — who lived with his father — was good for the murder.
Yet, for months, the results of a pacemaker analysis ordered by police was not a factor in the investigation. During that time, police would track Frank’s
car, intercept his calls, pore over text messages and ask his sister to
wear a wire and confront him. Frank maintained his innocence and
co-operated with investigators. Ultimately, police charged Frank with second-degree murder. By the time Frank’s lawyers came across the
pacemaker data in a pile of disclosed documents and had an expert
analyze it, Frank, who had no criminal record, had been in jail for 10
months, having been denied bail. The upshot: Frank was not home when his father’s heart beat its last. Frank, who had four witnesses, including his
sister, confirm he was visiting his ill grandmother for several hours
the morning his father died, was granted bail the day after his lawyers
showed police and the Crown the results of their analysis. Months later,
the Crown told court that medical evidence regarding time of death had
surfaced and there was no longer a reasonable chance of a conviction. At
the request of the Crown, the charge against Frank Cara was withdrawn
in December 2013.".........The Star found a handful of cases worldwide where pacemaker data proved pivotal in a murder case. In one Australian case, pacemaker time data worked the other way, helping convict a man in the 2000 slaying of a 72-year-old. The Cara case may be one of the first times such data proved critical in supporting an alibi. At best, police may have missed or
misinterpreted the pacemaker evidence. At worst, according to
allegations made in the statement of claim, detectives chose to “ignore
and bury it,” smearing Frank Cara’s reputation, and destroying his
career and relationships in the process..........(Buried data): "While preparing for a preliminary hearing,
Frank’s defence lawyers discovered the pacemaker analysis amid 10,000 to
15,000 pages of disclosure. “It was just buried in sort of the subfile
that was deemed to be marginally relevant,” O’Brien said in an
interview. “That was obviously an oversight on someone’s part at the
Durham police service.” O’Brien believes police and the Crown were
under the impression nothing useful would come of the pacemaker
analysis, and the results were not closely read, but filed away. O’Brien and co-counsel Tom Balka, however, did read them closely."
The entire story can be found at:
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2015/02/14/exclusive-how-a-pacemaker-proved-accused-killers-innocence.html
A curious footnote (HL): (Part of a newspaper story from a local paper on a press conference held by the Durham force a few weeks before Frank Cara was charged with murdering his father: "Throughout the press conference the police made assurances they had not given up on finding his killer. “This is an active investigation,” said Detective Tom Dingwall. “This is in no way a cold case and it is imperative anyone with information come forward to assist us.” The police declined to say if the arrest was tied to information gleaned following the press conference, but Police Spokesperson Sergeant Nancy van Rooy called it “very helpful.” A release from Durham Regional Police thanked the public and media for their assistance in the investigation.")
PUBLISHER'S NOTE:
Dear Reader. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following this case.
I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.
The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.ca/2013/12/the-charles-smith-award-presented-to_28.html
I look forward to hearing from readers at:
hlevy15@gmail.com.
Harold Levy; Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;
