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Defrosting Cold Cases

Research website by Alice de Sturler

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Lapointe

New Trial for Richard Lapointe!

October 1, 2012 By Alice

Richard A. Lapointe

The Connecticut Appellate Court ordered a new trial for Richard Lapointe. From the Hartford Courant: “In a stunning decision, the state Appellate Court Monday ordered a new trial for Richard Lapointe, a mentally disabled dishwasher convicted of a murder a quarter century ago, concluding that state prosecutors wrongly withheld a police report that tends to support […]

Filed Under: Lapointe, Miscarriages of Justice Tagged With: Arson Detection, Autopsy, Bernice Martin, Connecticut, DNA, Faulty Evidence, Miscarriage of Justice, Police Misconduct, Prosecutorial Misconduct, Richard A. Lapointe

Lapointe: DNA does not match

July 3, 2012 By Alice

Richard A. Lapointe

Who left his DNA behind: Richard A. Lapointe or Frederick Rodney Merrill? We have new developments that could shed a light on the case of Bernice Martin and could once and for all clear up who left his DNA. We already know it wasn’t Lapointe. The Connecticut State Board of Pardons and Paroles decided last week to grant […]

Filed Under: Lapointe, Miscarriages of Justice, Unsolved Tagged With: Actual Innocence, Arson Detection, Bernice Martin, DNA Database, Frederick Rodney Merrill, Prosecutorial Misconduct, Richard A. Lapointe, Wrongful Convictions

Connecticut Appellate Court to review 1987 Bernice Martin murder

May 18, 2012 By Alice

Richard A. Lapointe

“The Appellate Court is scheduled to hear arguments Friday [today] in the appeal of 66-year-old Richard Lapointe, who was convicted of murdering Bernice Martin and sentenced to life in prison. Lapointe insists that DNA evidence shows he’s innocent and that his former lawyers were ineffective.” On March 8, 1987, fire fighters were called to the […]

Filed Under: Forensics, Lapointe, Unsolved Tagged With: Arson Detection, Autopsy, Bernice Martin, Connecticut, Faulty Evidence, Prosecutorial Misconduct, Rape kits, Richard A. Lapointe

Sum it up #37

March 6, 2012 By Alice

sum it up #cclivechat

A short “Sum it up” just alerting you to some interesting things I found in the mailbox: Starting this Friday, March 9, 2012 on Investigation Discovery the movie “An Appointment With Death” will show you interviews with five death row inmates in Florida and Texas awaiting their execution. It is a four-part miniseries. More information […]

Filed Under: Forensics, Lapointe, Sum it up! Tagged With: 3D Skull Reconstruction, Bernice Martin, DNA, Forensics, Richard Lapointe

Update Richard Lapointe: Habeas denied

April 20, 2011 By Alice

Richard A. Lapointe

Richard Lapointe: his Habeas Petition was denied as reported by the Hartford Courant. “Superior Court Judge John J. Nazzaro, in a 51-page ruling issued late Friday, turned back arguments that prosecutors had withheld material evidence, that Lapointe’s trial and appellate lawyers were incompetent, and that new evidence proved Lapointe was innocent. The decision is another defeat in what […]

Filed Under: Forensics, Lapointe, Miscarriages of Justice Tagged With: Actual Innocence, Arson Detection, Bernice Martin, Connecticut, DNA, Expert Testimony, Forensics, Miscarriage of Justice, Prosecutorial Misconduct, Rape kits, Richard A. Lapointe

Lapointe hearings resume Aug 2010

July 19, 2010 By Alice

Richard A. Lapointe

Questions about how long a fire burned at Mrs. Martin’s apartment and possibly tainted DNA evidence on a pair of gloves found at the crime scene were brought up last Thursday during a hearing for Richard Lapointe. Mrs. Bernice Martin was raped, stabbed and strangled in her apartment in Manchester on March 8, 1987. Lapointe was convicted […]

Filed Under: Lapointe, Miscarriages of Justice Tagged With: Actual Innocence, Autopsy, DNA, Miscarriage of Justice, Prosecutorial Misconduct, Rape kits, Richard A. Lapointe

Lapointe hearing July 7-8-9, 2010

July 10, 2010 By Alice

Richard A. Lapointe

Christopher Cosgrove, Lapointe’s public defender during the criminal trial, and Henry Theodore Vogt, who sought a new trial for Lapointe in the late 1990s, testified during the latest hearing seeking a new trial for Lapointe. Paul Casteleiro, Lapointe’s current lawyer, focused on what Cosgrove and Vogt didn’t do when they handled the Lapointe case in […]

Filed Under: Lapointe, Miscarriages of Justice Tagged With: Actual Innocence, Arson Detection, Autopsy, DNA, Forensics, Miscarriage of Justice, Prosecutorial Misconduct, Rape kits, Richard A. Lapointe

Lapointe hearing July 6, 2010

July 6, 2010 By Alice

Richard A. Lapointe

During direct examination on Tuesday, Lapointe’s attorney, Paul Casteleiro, suggested that in his quest for a confession, Detective Morrissey overlooked inconsistencies in Richard’s admission to Morrissey and failed to ask important questions. In his confession, Richard said he had strangled 88-year-old Bernice Martin with his hands, but the medical examiner determined she had been strangled […]

Filed Under: Lapointe, Miscarriages of Justice Tagged With: Actual Innocence, Autopsy, DNA, Expert Testimony, Faulty Evidence, Forensics, Miscarriage of Justice, Prosecutorial Misconduct, Rape kits, Richard A. Lapointe

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Dina Fort

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On this website, I write about old, unsolved cases. Most are from the pre-DNA era and are in need of renewed media attention. I only do research and leave the 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.

My database has over 300 cases listed by the victim’s last name. You will find a brief description there as well. The database will always be free to the public to use. You cannot buy ad space on my website, ever.

All writing suggestions 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.

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Alice de Sturler

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William Thomas Zeigler

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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.

In the summer of 2019, the appeal for DNA testing to the Florida Conviction Integrity Unit was denied.

Richard Lapointe

Category: ALL POSTS

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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