Thursday, July 30, 2015

State Attorney Angela Corey purposely withholds evidence of possible murder suspect for 3 years.

State Attorney Angela Corey purposely withholds evidence of possible murder suspect for 3 years.

Earlier this year my attorney Rick Sichta was contacted by a person alleging that someone close to them had admitted being in a violent confrontation involving a knife with the victim, Corey Parker the night of her brutal murder. To ensure the safety of the person will not disclose names and will instead refer to them as witness and suspect.

To date, the facts surrounding this alleged confession continue to be developed. What is known thus far is that the suspect was at the Ritz nightclub with Corey Parker the night of her murder November 25-26, 1998. Several witnesses observed the suspect get in an argument with Corey Parker shortly before she left the nightclub visually upset. The suspect later gave testimony denying the argument with Corey Parker and claimed he did not see her after leaving the club. The suspects’ DNA was not tested, nor was his fingerprints compared the dozens of unidentified prints at the scene.

For years nothing more was heard about the suspect. Then in February 2015 the witness contacted my lawyer and explained that the suspect had admitted to going to Corey Parkers apartment after leaving the Ritz to follow up on the previous argument. According to the witness, the suspect claims the argument continued but got violent when he grabbed a knife, attacking Corey Parker with it before fleeing the scene. However, the suspect Corey Parker was still alive when he left. As everyone knows, Ms. Parker was found a day later stabbed to death.

To everyone’s surprise the witness had come forward in late 2011 with the allegation and was interviewed by the Head State Attorney in Jacksonville, Angela Corey. Amazingly, Angela Corey decided not to turn this new evidence over to my attorney and went to considerable effort to cover it up.

Upon learning of Angela Corey’s knowledge, Mr. Sichta filed a motion with the trial court demanding that the prosecution disclose any and all information learned since my wrongful conviction in 2005. I was transported from the prison I’m currently housed at (Mayo Correctional Institution Annex), to the Duval County Jail in Jacksonville in order to attend a court hearing.

On May 7, 2015, the State Attorney’s Office finally turned over documents and videos relating to the suspects alleged confession. Angela Corey did not attend the court hearing, leaving an assistant to explain why the evidence was withheld. Incredibly, the prosecution states they held the opinion that “nothing came of it (the confession)” and that is why it was not disclosed.

It is unclear whether the state has turned over everything it has learned since my conviction, and there is currently and investigation underway to determine if any information remains withheld. It was subsequently discovered that the suspect did submit to a voluntary DNA analysis and that his DNA does not match the 2 unidentified semen samples collected from the murder scene. However his DNA was not compared to several unidentified hairs. Sadly the reliability of the results of the testing is questionable due to the fact that Detective Billy Carlyle and Timothy Petree where responsible for handling the samples. One has to wonder if they were still using the same techniques that distorted the results from the first trial with my samples. Detective Billy Carlyle has since been fired.

Virtually nothing is known about the interview between the suspect and Angela Corey, since Angela Corey decided not to video or audio record the interview, yet she did video tape the interview of the witness. Yet another example of how Angela Corey has a discriminatory suppression of potentially exculpatory information.

While the investigation into the suspect continues, the only clear fact is that Angela Corey made a decision to cover up the undoubtedly critical information can be nothing but unethical and grossly unprofessional. This is perhaps the most glaring example of Angela Corey has willfully done and willingness to thwart justice and failure to uphold her oath as State Attorney. One has to wonder, how many other cases has she thwarted? How many other lives have been upheavaled?

Over the past several years Angela Corey has been caught red handed withholding evidence in high profile cases, retaliating unjustly against those who oppose her, and has been subject to several lawsuits and even an indictment. Yet she does so with virtual impunity since her position as an elected official grants her immunity.

I have known since my arrest in 2000 that information has been covered up, evidence has been tampered with and witnesses were intimidated and manipulated. I am certain there remains information and evidence that has never been disclosed. Whatever comes of this most recent development I can only hope Corey Parkers true murder is revealed so her family can finally know the truth while I prove my innocence and get my freedom back.