A New York girl who had been in jail for 13 years was launched Tuesday after new proof contradicted accounts that she helped a hitman perform a homicide 25 years in the past within the Bronx.
Kimberly Hanzlik, 59, was convicted in 2011 alongside gunman Joseph Meldish over allegations that she tipped off Meldish that his goal, Thomas Brown, was sitting in Frenchy’s Tavern on East Tremont Avenue within the Throggs Neck part of the Bronx on March 21, 1999. Meldish then went into the institution and shot Joseph Brown, who seemed like his brother, Thomas Brown.
Hanzlik was sentenced to twenty years to life in state jail, whereas Meldish was sentenced to 25 years to life in jail. However new proof revealed by the Bronx District Lawyer’s Workplace solid doubt on whether or not the sufferer’s spouse may establish Hanzlik as having been on the scene of the crime.
In a listening to on the Bronx Corridor of Justice on Tuesday, Administrative Decide Alvin Yearwood granted the movement by Hanzlik’s legal professional to vacate the conviction, dismiss the indictment and seal the case towards Hanzlik, ordering her launch from state jail.
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A New York girl who had been in jail for 13 years was freed after new proof contradicted accounts that she helped a hitman perform a homicide. (iStock)
“Ms. Hanzlik served 13 years in jail primarily based on trial testimony that might not meet in the present day’s threshold of credibility given the invention of recent data, which casts doubt on the integrity of her conviction, and we can not stand by it,” Bronx District Lawyer Darcel Clark, who joined the request to vacate the conviction and dismiss the fees, mentioned in an announcement. “I notice this causes ache and anguish for the sufferer’s household, however within the curiosity of justice, we’re dismissing the indictment towards Ms. Hanzlik.”
It was alleged that Meldish was upset that Thomas Brown, a former drug supplier, refused to lend him cash for a deal and reported Meldish to police when he burglarized his residence in retribution.
Hanzlik, a crack-addicted prostitute on the time, allegedly went with Meldish and one other man to the bar the place Thomas Brown was recognized to frequent, popped in and believed she noticed him sitting along with his spouse and informed Meldish he was inside.
Kimberly Hanzlik, 59, was convicted in 2011 alongside gunman Joseph Meldish over allegations that she tipped off Meldish of his goal’s location. (iStock)
Meldish then went inside and shot the person eight occasions, which killed him, however the sufferer turned out to be Joseph Brown.
And Meldish’s getaway driver testified that Hanzlik helped them perform the crime.
Joseph Brown’s spouse testified that she noticed Hanzlik within the bar earlier than the capturing. However after investigating the case once more on the request of Hanzlik’s legal professionals in 2021, it was revealed that she recognized Hanzlik for the primary time in 2006, seven years after the homicide.
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“I notice this causes ache and anguish for the sufferer’s household, however within the curiosity of justice, we’re dismissing the indictment towards Ms. Hanzlik,” Bronx District Lawyer Darcel Clark mentioned. (iStock)
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The identification was additionally secured by a New York Metropolis Police detective, who’s now lifeless, however who was not too long ago found to have coerced a false identification in an unrelated case.
Moreover, a beforehand undisclosed police doc from 1999 exhibits data from the getaway driver stating that Hanzlik was really not current on the time of the incident.
