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You are here: Home / Forensics / Los Tocayos Carlos

Los Tocayos Carlos

May 15, 2012 By Alice

Los Tocayos Carlos … the namesake Carlos …

The Guardian has an excellent article about a Texas capital punishment case involving a wrongful conviction, switched identities, an unsolved murder, evidence not tested for DNA, sloppy police procedures and an execution.

“Carlos DeLuna was arrested, aged 20, on 4 February 1983 for the brutal murder of a young woman, Wanda Lopez. She had been stabbed once through the left breast with an 8in lock-blade buck knife which had cut an artery causing her to bleed to death.

From the moment of his arrest until the day of his death by lethal injection six years later, DeLuna consistently protested he was innocent. He went further – he said that though he hadn’t committed the murder, he knew who had. He even named the culprit: a notoriously violent criminal called Carlos Hernandez.

At the trial, DeLuna’s defence team told the jury that Carlos Hernandez, not DeLuna, was the murderer. But the prosecutors ridiculed that suggestion. They told the jury that police had looked for a “Carlos Hernandez” after his name had been passed to them by DeLuna’s lawyers, without success. They had concluded that Hernandez was a fabrication, a “phantom” who simply did not exist. The chief prosecutor said in summing up that Hernandez was a “figment of DeLuna’s imagination.”

Years later, Professor Liebman asked a private investigator to spend just one day investigating the case to see whether a man called Carlos Hernandez could be found. The PI took the challenge and guess what, Carlos Hernandez did indeed exist.

If this case interests you, check out this website where you can read everything about the case, the book, and the players. It has a timeline, pictures, interviews and references.

To show you an example of the sloppy police work in this case, I post here a picture from the Guardian. Their subtitle is: “Police detective Escobedo, who headed the investigation, standing on evidence at the crime scene. Within two hours, the Shamrock had been cleaned up. Photograph: Corpus Christi police department.” Note that she is not wearing any protective covering on her boots …

The prosecution denied it, the cops denied it, but a PI did find this elusive man. Of course, this made me think about Robert Foster. The police lied about it, the prosecution denied his existence yet a PI found this man. I hope we will be able to save Zeigler. Please tell me that we have learned a lesson.

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Filed Under: Forensics, Miscarriages of Justice Tagged With: Carlos DeLuna, Carlos Hernandez, Death Row, Knife Attack, Los Tocayos Carlos, Texas, Unsolved Homicide, Victim, Witnesses, Wrongful Convictions

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Author Notes

On my website, I write about old, unsolved cases. Most are from the pre-DNA era and need renewed media attention. I only do research and leave active investigation of these cases to the professionals.

My posts are about homicides, missing and unidentified people, wrongful convictions, and forensics as related to these cases.

On book reviews: I only review select works of true crime, crime fiction, and historical fiction/mysteries. The stories have to fit my website's theme and research. It remains my prerogative to not review a book. Please check the FAQ page for more!

My database has hundreds of cases listed by the victim’s last name. You will find a brief description there as well. The database is free to the public.

All writing suggestions for cases that come in by email are added to my to-do list in the order in which they were received. Please be patient. My to-do list is very long but no case gets dropped and I will get back in touch.

If you have any questions about my website please check the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page, the about page, and the tabs in both menu bars. If you still cannot find the answer there, please contact me.

Thank you,

Alice de Sturler

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If you use my work, please add a link back. Let your readers know where you found your information. I do the same for you. Thank you!

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On March 31, 2016, an evidentiary hearing was held to request touch DNA testing. On July 18, 2016, Judge Whitehead denied that request.

On November 23, 2016, an appeal was filed with the Florida Supreme Court. On April 21, 2017, the Florida Supreme Court denied the request for touch DNA analysis.

On May 8, 2017 a motion for a rehearing with the US Supreme Court was filed. It was denied November 13, 2017.

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In March 2015, the Connecticut State Supreme Court ordered a new trial for Richard lapointe. On Oct 2, 2015, International Wrongful Conviction Day, Richard was set free. The judge ruled that he cannot be retried for the 1987 rape-murder of Mrs. Bernice Martin. Richard Lapointe died on Aug 4, 2020 of Covid19 complications.

In 1987, someone killed Bernice Martin. I hope that she will not become a forgotten file.
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Copyright: Please add a link back if you use my work. Let your readers know where you found your information. I do the same for you. If you need help with this, just contact me. Thank you, Alice de Sturler

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