Norwich murder suspect 'adamant' police video was faked. He was talked out of testifying.
NEW LONDON – The man accused of stabbing a Norwich woman to death in 2015 was dissuaded from addressing a judge directly on Thursday about what he claimed were issues with a police interrogation video.
The fourth day of Jean Jacques’ re-trial for the murder of 25-year-old Casey Chadwick was taken up largely with the testimony of Norwich police Lt. Det. Anthony Gomes. Gomes, the lead detective in the case, spent hours interviewing Jacques on June 25, 2015 – 10 days after Chadwick’s body was found in a closet of her Spaulding Street apartment.
Before the recording of that interview was played to a New London Superior Court jury, Jacques’ lawyer, Sebastian DeSantis, notified Judge Shari Murphy – who had previously excused jurors - his client wanted to address her directly.
DeSantis said Jacques was “adamant” that the police interview video had been somehow altered and was “not the real one.” DeSantis stated he and his client did not see “eye to eye” on the issue and two of his own experts verified its authenticity.
“I don’t see where it was altered or that there is another video out there,” DeSantis said, saying his only recourse was having his client testify. “I worry about his causing a scene in front of the jury.”
DeSantis acknowledged Jacques’ request was unusual, a sentiment echoed by Murphy.
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“It’s a rare occasion an individual (represented by) counsel being heard on an issue,” she said, before reminding Jacques of his right to remain silent and that any of his statements would become part of the court record.
Sometime during the lunch break, Jacques’ reconsidered his request and chose not to speak. DeSantis said his client had possibly been “misled” by state Department of Corrections employees about what sorts of police encounters were recorded.
“I suspect they did this on purpose because of the nature of the crime,” DeSantis said.
Prosecutors allege Jacques murdered Chadwick inside her apartment on June 15, 2015 and stole a quantity of crack cocaine and marijuana kept at the residence by her boyfriend.
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Jacques was convicted of killing Chadwick after a 2016 trial, but that conviction was overturned by the state Supreme Court and a new trial ordered.
During the hours-long 2015 police interview – the video was still playing at 4 p.m. on Thursday and expected to conclude on Friday – Gomes invites Jacques to account for his movements the night of the murder and the following day.
When the interview was shown in 2016, Jacques was heard repeatedly denying entering Chadwick’s apartment on the night of her death, even after Gomes informed him his blood had seemingly been discovered in the residence and at Jacques’ Norwich apartment.
Prosecutors say cell phone messages indicate Jacques was outside Chadwick’s apartment shortly before she was believed to have been killed.
John Penney can be reached at jpenney@norwichbulletin.com or at (860) 857-6965
This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Norwich murder suspect talked out of raising police video concerns
