Forensic scientist Henry Lee, known for O.J. Simpson and JonBenet Ramsey cases, found liable for fabricating evidence in wrongful murder convictions
Forensic scientist Henry Lee, known for his expert testimony in high-profile criminal cases including the O.J. Simpson murder trial and the JonBenet Ramsey case, has been found liable for fabricating evidence that led to a wrongful murder conviction.
Ralph “Ricky” Birch and Shawn Henning were sent to prison for decades for the murder of 65-year-old Everett Carr, who was stabbed 27 times in December 1985.
Their convictions were based partly on Lee’s testimony regarding bloodstains found in the victim’s home. But in 2020, new information on the stains came to light, and a judge vacated the felony murder convictions.
A Connecticut federal judge ruled Lee liable on Friday for his role in the wrongful conviction after tests proved that the stains identified as blood on a towel were not blood, reported the Hartford Courant.
Judge Victor Bolden wrote that Lee failed to provide evidence to support his testimony about forensic tests he said showed the stains were blood.
“Dr. Lee’s own experts concluded that there is no ‘written documentation or photographic’ evidence” that Lee performed a particular scientific blood test on a towel, Bolden said.
“And there is evidence in this record that the tests actually conducted did not indicate the presence of blood,” the judge added.
Bolden’s ruling could make Lee liable for millions in damages at upcoming court hearings. Having been found liable for the fabrications, the main question remaining in his case is how much he should pay.
Other defendants in the case — including the town of New Milford, Conn. and police officers and officials — can face trial on the facts of the case, Bolden ruled.
Lee, 84, is a professor emeritus at the University of New Haven’s Henry C. Lee College of Criminal Justice and Forensic Sciences, which bears his name.
When Birch and Henning’s murder convictions were vacated in 2020, Lee defended his reputation.
“In my 57-year career, I have investigated over 8,000 cases and never, ever was accused of any wrongdoing or for testifying intentionally wrong,” he told reporters. “This is the first case that I have to defend myself.”
Birch, who served over 30 years behind bars, was released in 2019 after a judge ordered a new trial. Henning, who was 17 at the time of the crime, was granted probation in 2018.
Although the two acknowledged carrying out burglaries in the area where the murder took place, they have consistently maintained that they were not involved in Carr’s death.
With News Wire Services
