Charles Herrera Acquitted of 2014 Murder
Charles Herrera
Supreme Court Justice Troadio Gonzalez today ruled that Charles Herrera, also known as Bundy, was not guilty of the murder – by stabbing – of Ezekiel Nicholas Medina in May of 2014. In a trial without jury, Justice Gonzalez found that the evidence presented to the court was not of the kind ordinarily able to convict beyond a reasonable doubt. On May twenty-sixth, 2014, it is alleged that Herrera caught Medina stealing from his vehicle in the vicinity of Partridge and Lavender Streets. They fought, and Herrera stabbed Medina three times, wounds which would prove fatal. Herrera and his attorney Christelle Wilson spoke outside of court following the favourable verdict.
Christelle Wilson
Christelle Wilson, Defense Attorney
“The judge says that after listening to all the evidence that was presented by the prosecution, he is of the opinion that it was merely a suspicious accusation that he was guilty of murder; the prosecution’s evidence was not solid enough to prove to him beyond a reasonable doubt that he could conclusively say that Mister Herrera had anything to do with the murder of Mister Medina. And the defense has always maintained its case that Mister Herrera is innocent, you know? He does not know how Mister Medina died, and we sympathize with the family of Mister Medina but, it would have been very unfortunate to send an innocent man to prison to murder when the evidence was not there to conclusively say so.”
Reporter
“But would you say that circumstantially, there was some kind of evidence linking him to that murder scene?”
Christelle Wilson
“No. There wasn’t any evidence that linked Mister Herrera; in fact that was what the defense had put through as our no-case submission, as our defense strategy; there was always some evidence that a murder took place, but nothing that could conclusively say, circumstantially or otherwise, that Mister Herrera had anything to do with that, and the defense just maintained that throughout the entire trial. And Mister Herrera himself took the dock and said, you know what, I didn’t have anything to do with this murder and it is unfortunate that somebody had died, but the real person is out there and that is the person that the police need to go and to investigate and find.”
Charles Herrera, Acquitted of Murder
“First I would like to say thanks to God, and thanks to Miss Wilson for believing in me that I am innocent, and I would just like to go back home to my kids.”
During trial the Crown’s main witness appeared to change his story as to what he saw on the night of the incident and what the former accused allegedly told him the following day regarding an item, a knife, that the prosecution believes was the murder weapon. Oral and written caution statements made by Herrera to two senior police investigators, Superintendent Hilberto Romero and Senior Superintendent Alford Grinage, were ruled out because police allegedly offered Herrera his freedom in exchange for the statement, but also held him without food and water for five hours. Rene Montero, Junior represented the Crown.
