QUOTE OF THE DAY: "In a response to the state’s motion White called Lee’s testimony “false” and reiterated that Hasan was only convicted based on bad forensics. "Specifically, the plaintiff relies on inaccurate and misleading testimony by the defendant’s experts at trial and scientific testing conducted in 2014 by the Connecticut Forensic Lab that proves the scope and nature of the false and misleading testimony,” White wrote. “More specifically, the new tests prove that key evidence used against the plaintiff at trial was not what the prosecution purported it to be."
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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "In a seven-page response to the lawsuit filed by Hasan seeking to have his 1986 murder conviction vacated, Supervisory Assistant State’s Attorney Jo Anne Sulik denied there would have been a different outcome to his trial if DNA evidence available now which shows there was no blood at all on the Puma sneakers the state said Hasan was wearing when he murdered George Tyler was available then. Hasan was convicted of murdering George Tyler in his Darien home on July 2, 1985 based partly on evidence found on a pair of Puma sneakers found in his closet. Rachel Tyler, George’s wife, survived the attack but was severely injured. At Hasan’s trial, Lee testified that a substance found on the bottom of the sneaker was blood. He went on to say that the blood type matched both of the Tylers. But when the sneakers were retested in July 2014 by the state police forensic laboratory, the stains that Lee testified were blood “were negative for the presence of blood,” according to a lawsuit filed by attorney Patrick White. The lawsuit seeks to have Hasan released from prison where he is serving an 80-year sentence and the verdict be set aside. The lab also used new techniques that weren’t available in 1986 to test the stains for DNA. Those tests showed that no DNA from either victim was on the sneakers, the lawsuit said. While the state seems prepared to fight Hasan’s lawsuit, Sulik’s filing did admit to several key points, including that Lee testified it was blood on the sneakers and that the new testing done in 2014 showed there was no blood on the sneakers and no DNA from the murder victim or his wife."
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PASSAGE TWO OF THE DAY: "The Hasan case is the third case in the past two years where Lee’s work has been called into question. The state Supreme Court recently overturned the murder convictions of Shawn Henning and Ralph Birch based partly on the inaccurate testimony of Lee at their trials that a brown spot found on a towel was human blood. Years later, the forensic lab revealed the towel had never been tested and when they did test it the substance was found not to be blood. The two men had been convicted of the brutal murder of Everett Carr in his New Milford home in 1985. Birch and Henning are both free on promises to appear in court. In the third case, David Weinberg, who was convicted in the 1984 murder of Joyce Stochmal, was released from prison in 2017 based on evidence that Lee had falsely testified. In that case, the defense argued that Lee testified “trace material on hair and on the knife was blood when he knew or should have known that the material was either animal blood or not blood at all.” Weinberg has since been released from prison. Hasan is still serving his 80 year sentence he got after his conviction. The lawsuit is seeking a new trial and asks that he be released from prison immediately pending that trial."
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PHOTO CAPTION: "Forensic
analysis by Henry Lee in a 1985 murder case has come under scrutiny
after new DNA testing of a sneaker."
GIST: "The
state is acknowledging in court documents that new DNA testing done on a
pair of Puma sneakers belonging to Wendall Hasan — convicted of
murdering a Darien man in 1985 — appears to contradict the testimony of
famed forensic scientist Henry Lee, but the Office of the Chief State’s
Attorney will not agree to a new trial. In
a seven-page response to the lawsuit filed by Hasan seeking to have his
1986 murder conviction vacated, Supervisory Assistant State’s Attorney
Jo Anne Sulik denied there would have been a different outcome to his
trial if DNA evidence available now which shows there was no blood at
all on the Puma sneakers the state said Hasan was wearing when he
murdered George Tyler was available then. Hasan
was convicted of murdering George Tyler in his Darien home on July 2,
1985 based partly on evidence found on a pair of Puma sneakers found in
his closet. Rachel Tyler, George’s wife, survived the attack but was
severely injured. At
Hasan’s trial, Lee testified that a substance found on the bottom of
the sneaker was blood. He went on to say that the blood type matched
both of the Tylers. But
when the sneakers were retested in July 2014 by the state police
forensic laboratory, the stains that Lee testified were blood “were
negative for the presence of blood,” according to a lawsuit filed by
attorney Patrick White. The lawsuit seeks to have Hasan released from
prison where he is serving an 80-year sentence and the verdict be set
aside. The
lab also used new techniques that weren’t available in 1986 to test the
stains for DNA. Those tests showed that no DNA from either victim was
on the sneakers, the lawsuit said. While
the state seems prepared to fight Hasan’s lawsuit, Sulik’s filing did
admit to several key points, including that Lee testified it was blood
on the sneakers and that the new testing done in 2014 showed there was
no blood on the sneakers and no DNA from the murder victim or his wife. In
a response to the state’s motion White called Lee’s testimony “false”
and reiterated that Hasan was only convicted based on bad forensics. "Specifically,
the plaintiff relies on inaccurate and misleading testimony by the
defendant’s experts at trial and scientific testing conducted in 2014 by
the Connecticut Forensic Lab that proves the scope and nature of the
false and misleading testimony,” White wrote. “More specifically, the
new tests prove that key evidence used against the plaintiff at trial
was not what the prosecution purported it to be. Doubts about convictions in three cases: When
the lawsuit was filed, Lee held a press conference at the Henry C. Lee
College of Criminal Justice and Forensic Sciences at the University of
New Haven and angrily denied any wrongdoing in the Hasan case. “We
did conduct the tests in this case and I stand behind the science 100
percent in this case,” Lee said regarding the newest allegations. Lee
also gave The Courant a four-page state police forensic laboratory
report dated July 17, 1985 that appears to be test results done on
samples taken from George Tyler’s home. The report said that reddish
brown stains taken from the sneakers tested positive for human blood. "You
cannot say that 30 years ago blood wasn’t there just because of a test
that you’ve done now,” Lee said. “You aren’t testing the same thing. It
is a totally different sample.” The
Hasan case is the third case in the past two years where Lee’s work has
been called into question. The state Supreme Court recently overturned
the murder convictions of Shawn Henning and Ralph Birch based partly on
the inaccurate testimony of Lee at their trials that a brown spot found
on a towel was human blood. Years
later, the forensic lab revealed the towel had never been tested and
when they did test it the substance was found not to be blood. The two
men had been convicted of the brutal murder of Everett Carr in his New
Milford home in 1985. Birch and Henning are both free on promises to
appear in court. In
the third case, David Weinberg, who was convicted in the 1984 murder of
Joyce Stochmal, was released from prison in 2017 based on evidence that
Lee had falsely testified. In that case, the defense argued that Lee
testified “trace material on hair and on the knife was blood when he
knew or should have known that the material was either animal blood or
not blood at all.” Weinberg
has since been released from prison. Hasan is still serving his 80 year
sentence he got after his conviction. The lawsuit is seeking a new
trial and asks that he be released from prison immediately pending that
trial. A bloody shoe print, but no DNA match: George
Tyler was stabbed to death in his Darien home on July 2, 1985 and
police found a bloody shoe print in the kitchen that belonged to a Puma
sneaker. Three
days later the landlord of a South Norwalk apartment complex called a
plumber to clear a clogged toilet. When he did so, he found two credit
cards belonging to George Tyler in the drain, records show. The
apartment complex was where the Hasan family lived. When police searched
the house, they found a pair of Puma sneakers in a closet that belonged
to Hasan. He was arrested for the murder. But
when the sneakers were retested in July 2014 by the state police
forensic laboratory, the stains that Lee testified were blood “were
negative for the presence of blood,” according to a lawsuit filed
Tuesday asking the verdict be set aside. The
left sneaker had two stains, a reddish stain on the side and a brownish
stain located on the sole. DNA was extracted from the stain on the sole
as well as from inside the sneaker. The DNA results showed that the
sample included mixtures of blood and that neither matched the DNA of
the Tylers. The
right shoe also was re-examined and reddish stains on both sides of it
were not blood. The lab also collected samples for a blackish stain on
the bottom of that sneaker and from a sample inside the sneaker. They
were sent for DNA analysis which concluded that the samples were
mixtures of more than one person’s DNA and that neither of the Tylers’
DNA matched those samples either."
The entire story can be read at:
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. 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/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;
