Police Coercion, Manipulation Result in Witness Falsely Attributing Evidence to Defendant…..
Law enforcement officials routinely
use coercive and manipulative tactics to secure witness testimony which attributes
physical evidence to a Defendant even when they know the witness is lying. In
this case that witness is Heather Champion, my former girlfriend who falsely
claims a Zippo Lighter and Blue shirt found in and outside of the crime scene
belonged to me. Here are the facts surrounding her unbelievable testimony.
1. A gold tone zippo lighter was found on the floor
next to the bed Corey Parker was discovered on.
2. On the lighter was an engraved emblem with the
acronym “NACTA” which stands for National Air Traffic Association.
3.
In 1994 Zippo manufactured 50 of these lighters
of which most were distributed in the Washington DC area and 6 sent to Houston
Texas.
4.
A blue shirt found wet and hanging in a tree
above a dumpster was collected the day police discovered the scene.
5.
Over six years after Parkers murder and four
years after my arrest Detective Billy Carlyle tracked down my former
girlfriend, Heather Champion, who had turned criminal with warrants out for her arrest.
6.
Detective Billy Carlyle informed Heather
Champion that he was not interested in her warrants as long as she would
cooperate against me. She was eager to assist Detective Billy Carlyle. Exhibits
out of lettering order from this point on.
7.
Heather Champion was shown pictures of the zippo
lighter and blue shirt, then stated they both belonged to me.
8.
At trial Heather Champion gave many stories and
vacillated greatly as to when she claims to have seen me with the lighter and /
or wearing the shirt. Specifically, she stated at one point that she saw me
with both as late as January 1999 when I left Florida to return to Texas
several months after Corey Parkers homicide. In addition, Heather Champion is
the only
person claiming these items belong to me.
9.
There is absolutely no evidence linking me to
the zippo lighter other than heather Champions claim. The lighter was tested
for DNA with no results. A partial finger print was found on it that was of no
value for comparison purposes. However, “unofficially” my attorney was told I
was excluded.
10.
There is absolutely no evidence linking me to
the blue shirt. In fact, there is no evidence linking the shirt to the murder.
No blood was found on it. Fibers from the shirt did not match fibers from the
scene.
11.
The collar and armpit areas of the blue shirt
were tested for DNA by FDLE analyst Maria Puro with no results. Also 3 hairs
from the shirt were tested by Labcorp, none of which match me and all came from
different people.
Although
it seems obvious that Heather Champion was lying due to Detective Billy
Carlyles’ manipulation; the zippo and blue shirt was difficult to overcome at trial.
The prosecution did not hesitate to use false testimony and made it a feature
of the trial which contributed to my wrongful conviction.
