Lapointe’s wrongful conviction brings back Martin’s cold case because if we take Lapointe out of the equation we are left with no answers. Who killed Bernice Martin? The decision The decision to grant a new trial is here (RICHARD LAPOINTE v. COMMISSIONER OF CORRECTION). A few quotes: “On appeal, the petitioner claims that the court improperly rejected his […]
Connecticut
Connecticut Supreme Court Orders New Trial For Richard Lapointe
Connecticut Supreme Court Orders New Trial For Richard Lapointe after the state’s appeal from Sept 17, 2013! From the Hartford Courant of March 31, 2015 is says:”the mentally disabled dishwasher was denied evidence supporting his innocence when he was tried and convicted a quarter-century ago for the rape and murder of his then-wife’s 88-year-old grandmother. The […]
Jury finds John Heath guilty
Jury finds John Heath guilty for the murder of Elizabeth Gough-Heath. From the CTPost: “The jury’s verdict was returned just over an hour after they re-heard a surreptitiously recorded interview in which Heath made denigrating comments to police about his wife’s fitness as a mother, as well as other statements that just didn’t ring true […]
Case of the Month: Bernice Martin
Case of the Month: Bernice Martin. On March 8, 1987, fire fighters found Mrs. Bernice Martin inside the Mayfair Gardens Elderly Housing Complex, Manchester, Connecticut. She had been brutally beaten and passed away that same night in the hospital. The fire department found her front door locked but the glass sliding door in the back open. The […]
Heath murder trial delayed to March
John Heath’s murder trial delayed. It is now set for March 20, 2013. The CT Post writes “John Heath, the Newtown man who was charged last year with his wife’s decades-old murder, had his trial at Danbury Superior Court continued to March 20, according to the city’s state’s attorney’s office. His attorney, Frank O’Reilly, previously derided the prosecution’s case […]
New Trial for Richard 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 […]
Probable cause to try John Heath
Judge Blawie ruled there is probable cause to try John Heath for the 1984 murder of his wife Elizabeth Heath. John Heath had reported Elizabeth missing on April 6, 1984. Heath’s family had Elizabeth declared dead in 1991. Elizabeth’s remains were found two years ago during a home renovation by new owners of the property at 89 […]
Update trial re Elizabeth Heath
Update in the trial re Elizabeth Heath: John Heath will stand trial in his wife’s death. To follow the court case in Elizabeth Heath’s trial you need these details: Court: Danbury GA 3 and JD The docket number: DBD -CR12-0143924-S Next Court Date: 7/12/2012 10:00 AM Dr. H. Wayne Carver, the chief state medical examiner, was in charge of […]
Connecticut Appellate Court to review 1987 Bernice Martin murder
“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 […]
Elizabeth Heath autopsy details
More details have appeared in the Hartford Courant about Elizabeth Heath‘s violent death. Dr. H. Wayne Carver, the chief state medical examiner, was in charge of Elizabeth’s autopsy. It was not easy for him. Elizabeth’s remains covered 188 separate envelopes. “Gough Heath’s maxilla — the upper jaw — had been traumatically amputated from the skull, the […]