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A defense lawyer for a man accused of killing a woman in New York said the police had used a "discriminatory tool" to collect DNA samples from 360 black men before targeting their client. A Chanel Lewis lawyer made this new request after handing an anonymous letter to defense lawyers Friday afternoon on the eve of the jury's deliberations, three years after the Karina Vetrano assassination while She was running in Queens.
Lewis was accused of sexually abusing and killing Vetrano on August 2, 2016, as she was crossing her neighborhood of Howard Beach in Queens. His first trial was completed before a jury suspended in November 2018. According to the Queens District Attorney's Office prosecutors, Lewis confessed to the murder and gave DNA samples compatible with the genetic samples found on the body and mobile phone of Vetrano.
Lewis' defense, which includes Tina Luongo's staff at the Legal Aid Society, said his confessions were forced by the NYPD and that the anonymous letter delivered Friday showed that key evidence had been concealed at the new trial.
"We have received disturbing and reliable reports that the police had concealed crucial information about other potential suspects, who have never been forwarded to the defense," Luongo said in a statement to CBS News. . "In addition, we learned that the police contacted our Mr. Lewis to obtain a DNA sample as part of a racially-based strike, which involved the cleansing of over 360 African Americans at Howard Beach. and in the neighboring neighborhoods of Brooklyn and Queens. "In light of this information that changes the case, we plan to file motions Monday requesting a hearing on the failure to disclose this exculpatory evidence by the prosecution and a new hearing. hearing challenging the unconstitutional racial profiling of the Department throughout its investigation. "
The letter containing the new allegations was handed over to Lewis' defense attorney's office, the New York Times reported. The letter, reported for the first time by the Daily News, claims to have been written by a New York police detective and suggests, among other things, that during the first weeks of investigations, the police chief of New York's Michael Kemper "said several times at these meetings" the police "were looking for two types of well-made guys from Howard Beach.
Lewis, who is African-American, was finally apprehended six months after the start of the investigation after Detective Lieutenant John Russo included him in a report of suspicious people. Lewis made a saliva swab for the police inside his New York home, matching the DNA found on Vetrano's bloody body at the scene of the crime.
In a statement to CBS News, Sgt. Brendan Ryan said: "The NYPD has conducted a thorough investigation into the murder of Karina Vetrano and, as the Queens District prosecutor's evidence shows, there is clear evidence that Chanel Lewis is responsible for her death." Several hearings and two trials More than two years ago, the criminals have thoroughly examined the issues raised in this anonymous eleven o'clock letter, a missive of falsehood and inaccuracy. "
Lewis' lawyers said they would file motions in the Queens State Supreme Court on Monday, asking for a last-minute hearing to determine whether crucial evidence had been concealed by prosecutors.
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