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You are here: Home / Miscarriages of Justice / Wrongfully convicted Lapointe cannot be retried

Wrongfully convicted Lapointe cannot be retried

October 3, 2015 By Alice

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Wrongfully convicted Lapointe cannot be retried and was set free on International Wrongful Conviction Day!

From the Hartford Courant: “A judge on Friday dismissed the notorious, quarter-century-old capital murder case against Richard Lapointe, a mentally impaired dishwasher who was released from prison when the state Supreme Court said he was wrongly convicted in the brutal death of an elderly relative. 

The ruling followed a decision by the office of Hartford County State’s Attorney Gail Hardy not to retry the case and it ends the long legal ordeal for Lapointe, a small man made uncommonly naive by a mental disability.”

The state is still convinced that Lapointe is guilty. However, witnesses have passed away and what evidence there was is deteriorating. Lapointe has een incarcerated for 27 years for the 1987 murder of Bernice Martin. Martin was the grandmother of Lapointe’s then-wife, Karen. Despite divorcing him, Karen always stood by her ex-husband repeating that he had an alibi.

While Lapointe was questioned at headquarters back then, Det. Morrissey, who was secretly wearing a wire, questioned Karen. The wiretap recording was kept hidden from the defense.

Karen has cerebral palsy with limited intellectual capacities. She later told the defense that they threatened to take their son Sean away from her, if she did not cooperate. The tape proved that Det. Morrissey lied to Karen. He said that police had DNA to prove Lapointe’s guilt. They did not. He had also claimed that Lapointe had cut his hand while in the apartment, that Mrs. Martin’s neighbours had heard screams, and that Lapointe was seen carrying something inside the apartment. The recording confirmed that the detective threatened that Karen would lose her son if she did not give in.

You can find all my posts about the Martin case and Lapointe here. As stated before, I am delighted that justice finally prevails for Richard. At the same time I am saddened that we still do not know who murdered Karen’s grandmother.

We have ended a wrongful conviction case, yes. Now we need to gear up with the same materials to solve the cold case of Bernice Martin. Who’s with me?

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Filed Under: Miscarriages of Justice, Unsolved Tagged With: Bernice Martin, Connecticut, Dandy Walker Syndrome, Richard Lapointe, Wrongful Convictions

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Author Notes

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.

Defrosting Cold Cases is NOT an organization. It is my brainchild.

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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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

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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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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
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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