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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Third-degree Murder |
Sentence: |
15 to 30 years |
Years Imprisoned: |
9 |
Year Crime: |
2001 |
Year Convicted: |
2006 |
Year Cleared: |
2016 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Pennsylvania |
County or Region of Crime: |
Fayette |
City of Crime: |
Connellsville |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated |
Summary of Case: |
"Crystal Dawn Weimer was wrongly convicted in 2006 of third-degree murder and conspiracy to commit criminal homicide, in the beating death of Curtis Haith outside his apartment in Connellsville, Pennsylvania on January 27, 2001. Crystal Weimer knew Haith, and when the two fought on January 26, the day before Haith's death, Weimer suffered a black eye and a split lip. The police and the Fayette County District Attorney's Office believed Weimer retaliated by having Haith beaten. More than three years after Haith's death Weimer was indicted in 2004 based on her ex-boyfriend police statement that she confessed to him, but he later recanted, and that indictment was subsequently dismissed for lack of evidence. She was reindicted in September 2004 based on the statement by her alleged accomplice, Joseph Stenger, that Weimer lured Haith outside so he could be beaten to death by two unidentified black men. The prosecution's case during Weimer's trial was based on Stenger's testimony and the expert testimony of a dentist, Dr. Constantine Karazulas of Bridgeport, Conn., that a bite mark on Haith's hand matched Weimer's teeth. After the jury convicted Weimer she was sentenced on April 19, 2006 to a total of 15 to 30 years in prison -- : 12-1/2 to 25 years imprisonment for the murder conviction, and a consecutive 2-1/2 to 5 years imprisonment for the conspiracy conviction. After Weimer was convicted and sentenced Stenger was rewarded for his cooperative testimony by the Fayette County DA dismissing his murder charge, and in April 2006 Stenger pled guilty to conspiracy to commit homicide and he was sentenced to nine to 18 years in prison. On August 17, 2009 the Pennsylvania Supreme Court affirmed Weimer's convictions and sentence by a majority 5 to 2 vote (Two of the justices thought she should be resentenced.) After her post-conviction petition was denied by the Pennsylvania state courts, on December 29, 2013 Weimer filed an 82-page pro se federal habeas corpus petition, and requested appointment of counsel. On March 26, 2014 the State filed its response to Weimer's petition, asserting it was meritless. In April 2014 Weimer sent a hand-written letter to the Fayette County DA's Office in which she stated her sister had discovered new evidence: "The new evidence is that some kid named Tray Von is the man that killed Curtis Haith. ... my sister is real strong on this being the person & states if they TEST his DNA then it'll MATCH the DNA that was found at Curtis Haith's crime scene ..." On April 21, 2014 the DA's Office sent a copy of Weimer's letter to the Connellsville Police Department. Weimer submitted her letter as "Notice of New Evidence" to the U.S. District Court on May 21, 2014. On July 8, 2014 Weimer's request for appointment of counsel was granted in "the interests of justice." The Federal Public Defender's Office was appointed to represent Weimer. The FPD conducted an investigation of her case that included interviewing Stenger, who recanted his trial testimony as false, and that Weimer had nothing to do with Haith's death. Dr. Karazulas was also interviewed, and he recanted his trial testimony as unreliable in light a 2009 report by the National Academy of Science that “thoroughly discredited” any forensic science basis for bite-mark analysis. Since the federal court could not consider the new evidence of the recantations of Stenger and Dr. Karazulas without the state courts first considering it, on March 4, 2015 the federal court issued a stay pending the state court's review. In March 2015 Weimer filed a pro-se petition for a new trial based on the new evidence that Stenger recanted his testimony as false, and Dr. Karazulas recanted her trial bite-mark testimony as unreliable because subsequent research established it was based on junk science. The Fayette County DA's Office did not oppose Weimer's petition. On October 1, 2015, Fayette County Judge John F. Wagner granted Crystal Weimer’s petition for a new trial, citing to a fundamental change in forensics since her 2006 conviction. Judge Wagner ordered Weimer's release on a $20,000 unsecured bond. On June 27, 2016 a motion by the Fayette County District Attorney's Office to dismiss the charges against Weimer was granted by Fayette County Judge John F. Wagner. It isn't known if any police investigation has been done to determine if Tray Von committed the murder." |
Conviction Caused By: |
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Innocence Proved By: |
"On June 27, 2016 a motion by the Fayette County District Attorney's Office to dismiss the charges against Weimer was granted by Fayette County Judge John F. Wagner. " |
Defendant Aided By: |
Pennsylvania Innocence Project and pro bono lawyers with the Jones Day law firm in Pittsburgh led by Partner Jeffrey J. Bresch and associate Katelyn M Matscherz. |
Compensation Awarded: |
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Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
29 |
Age When Released: |
38 |
Sex: |
Female |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
White |
Information Source 1: |
"Charges against Connellsville woman in 2001 beating death dismissed, By Staff, The Tribune-Review, June 28, 2016" |
Information Location 1: |
http://triblive.com/news/regional/10706400-74/weimer-charges-homicide |
Information Source 2: |
"Connellsville woman's murder conviction vacated over faulty analysis, By Susy Kelly (Staff), Herald-Standard, October 2, 2015" |
Information Location 2: |
http://www.heraldstandard.com/new_today/connellsville-woman-s-murder-conviction-vacated-over-faulty-analysis/article_c0cf156b-12b4-5187-b3ca-6726b3ff13d4.html |
Information Source 3: |
"Weimer wants new trial in 2001 beating death in Connellsville, By Liz Zemba, The Tribune-Review, March 9, 2015" |
Information Location 3: |
http://triblive.com/news/fayette/7934029-74/weimer-stenger-haith |
Information Source 4: |
"Com. v. Weimer, 977 A. 2d 1103, 602 Pa. 33 (Pa. Supreme Court 2009) (Affirming convictions and sentence.)" |
Information Location 4: |
"https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=13718711605722094057&q=Crystal+D.+Weimer&hl=en&as_sdt=6,48" |
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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org