"A Connellsville woman's retrial for a 2001 homicide has been set for January. Crystal Dawn Weimer, 38, was serving up to
30 years in state prison when Judge John F. Wagner Jr. last month freed
her on $20,000 unsecured bond, pending a new trial. Wagner granted the new trial because a
forensic dentist whose testimony on bite-mark analysis helped convict
her in 2006 called it “junk science” during an October hearing. Weimer was serving time for her role in the
death of Curtis Haith, whose badly beaten body was found outside his
apartment with a gunshot wound in the face. During Weimer's trial, Dr. Constantine
Karazulas of Bridgeport, Conn., testified that a bite mark on Haith's
hand matched a dental impression that Weimer gave police. His testimony,
along with that of alleged accomplice Joseph C. Stenger, 32, of
Everson, helped convict her. Stenger said Weimer lured Haith outside to
be beaten by two unidentified black men, but prosecutors said he has
changed his story a number of times. On Oct. 1, Karazulas testified that advances
in scientific knowledge since the trial have rendered bite-mark
analysis essentially “junk science.” He said that now he would not
analyze bite marks or render an opinion on comparisons."
Thursday, November 5, 2015
Bulletin: Crystal Dawn Weimer: Bitemark evidence: Retrial scheduled in murder trial; New trial had been granted because, "a forensic dentist whose testimony on bite-mark analysis helped convict her in 2006 called it “junk science” during an October hearing. "a forensic dentist whose testimony on bite-mark analysis helped convict her in 2006 called it “junk science” during an October hearing...."On Oct. 1, Karazulas testified that advances in scientific knowledge since the trial have rendered bite-mark analysis essentially “junk science.” He said that now he would not analyze bite marks or render an opinion on comparisons.""
