Human bones found in Brooklyn park for 2nd time this week
(NEW YORK) — Human bones were found in a Brooklyn park along the shore of the East River for the second time in a week, according to the New York Police Department.
Police responded to a 911 report of a body found at Jane’s Carousel early Wednesday, and determined the civilian discovered skeletal remains on the rocks along the shore, the NYPD said.
The discovery came two days after police responded to another report of a found body part near the same location. A New York City Parks enforcement officer discovered skeletal remains on the beach, the NYPD said.
A femur and a couple of smaller bones were found Wednesday, according to New York ABC station WABC.
The medical examiner is investigating the remains found on both days, according to the NYPD.
(ST. LOUIS) — A judge in St. Louis issued a written order Monday vacating the murder conviction of Christopher Dunn, who has served 33 years in a Missouri prison for a murder he has maintained he did not commit.
The order follows a hearing two months ago during which Circuit Court Judge Jason Sengheiser heard evidence in favor of Dunn’s exoneration, including findings from an evidentiary hearing four years ago in which the presiding judge declared that if Dunn were tried today given the current evidence, “reasonably, properly instructed jurors would find [Dunn] not guilty.”
“In conclusion, the only evidence inculpating Dunn has been recanted,” court documents of Sengheiser’s ruling stated. “The [St. Louis] Circuit Attorney [Gabe Gore] has made a clear and convincing showing of ‘actual innocence’ that undermines the basis of Dunn’s convictions because in light of the new evidence, no juror, acting reasonably, would have voted to find Dunn guilty of these crimes beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s office did not immediately return ABC News’ request for comment, nor did the state prosecutor’s office return ABC News’ request for a statement, including when Dunn might be released from prison.
Dunn, 52, was given a life sentence without the possibility of parole for a first-degree murder conviction in the death of 15-year-old Rico Rogers, who was shot to death in May 1990.
There is no physical evidence linking Dunn, who was 18 at the time, to Roger’s murder. His conviction was based on the testimony of two eyewitnesses who said they saw Dunn nearby just before the shooting. The witnesses — DeMorris Stepp, then 14, and Michael Davis Jr., who was 12 — recanted their testimonies in 2005 and 2015, respectively.
The eyewitnesses said they were coerced by prosecutors and police to testify that Dunn was guilty. The state attorney general’s office testified during the hearing, which began May 21, that they never coerced, manipulated or threatened the witnesses.
Defense attorneys for Dunn argued during the hearing that Stepp and Davis’ alleged false testimonies were “inconsistent, uncertain and unsure” and made while they were children, and that Stepp and Davis corrected their testimony when they became adults.
Gore filed the motion to vacate Dunn’s murder conviction in February this year.
“There remains no evidence upon which a reasonable jury could return a verdict of guilty,” Gore said in closing statements during the hearing earlier this year. “In fact your honor, in this case, there simply remains no evidence at all.”
Prosecutors from the Missouri Attorney General’s office maintained that Dunn was guilty, arguing that regardless of their testimonies, the witnesses were still able to identify Dunn via photo and a live lineup.
This is the second time a judge has heard Dunn’s case for exoneration. In a 2020 evidentiary hearing, Texas County Judge William Hickle ruled that given the new evidence, and the recantations of the testimonies, “reasonably, properly instructed jurors would find [Dunn] not guilty.”
Still, Dunn was not exonerated on account of a 2016 Missouri Supreme Court ruling that only allowed death row inmates to make a “freestanding” claim of innocence.
“We are overjoyed to soon be welcoming home MIP [Midwest Innocence Project] client Christopher Dunn,” his defense team told ABC News in a statement. “The Attorney General’s Office is continuing to waste taxpayer money as it fights Chris’ release even though two judges have now found that no jury would convict Chris today.”
In 2021, Missouri adopted a new law that expands the rights of incarcerated persons without death sentences to file for an exoneration. The law allows prosecutors to request hearings to vacate a conviction if they have information that demonstrates that the convicted person is not guilty, or was otherwise wrongfully convicted.
During the May hearing, Dunn’s defense attorneys brought up Judge’s Hickle’s findings in 2020 that Dunn had met the standard for exoneration, and called on Judge Sengheiser to “establish actual innocence and allow you to do what Judge Hickel could not do. Vacate the wrongful conviction of Christopher Dunn.”
(COLUMBIA FALLS, Mont.) — A search is underway for a climber who has been missing in Montana’s Glacier National Park since Sunday evening.
Grant Marcuccio, a 32-year-old from Whitefish, Montana, separated from his party while hiking from Heavens Peak to McPartland Peak, according to the National Park Service.
Marcuccio was last seen heading toward McPartland Peak at about noon on Sunday, but he did not arrive at the meet-up point as planned, the park service said.
Park rangers were told he was missing on Sunday night.
Search planes have flown over the region searching for Marcuccio on Monday and Tuesday, with rangers searching on the ground Tuesday. Helicopters also flew over the area on Wednesday, park officials said.
Marcuccio is described as 6 feet tall with brown hair and brown eyes, weighing about 175 pounds. He may be wearing brown shorts and a brown and white checkered shirt, officials said.
(NEW YORK) — A 20-year-old man has fallen 400 feet to his death from a scenic overlook at the Grand Canyon, officials said.
The Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report on Wednesday at approximately 10:40 a.m. that a visitor to the park had fallen from the rim of the canyon a few hundred feet west of Pipe Creek Overlook, according to a statement from the National Park Service released on Thursday.
Rangers responded to the location immediately and were able to locate the body of 20-year-old Abel Joseph Meija from Hickory, North Carolina, about 400 feet below the canyon’s rim.
“Mr. Mejia was near the edge of the rim when he suffered an accidental fall,” officials said. “An investigation into the incident is being conducted by the National Park Service and the Coconino County Medical Examiner’s Office.”
Authorities have not disclosed how Meija managed to fall to his death or why he got close to the edge in the first place.
Pipe Creek Vista is a popular stop for visitors and is the first pullout heading east toward Desert View on Desert View Drive. It can be accessed by private vehicle or by using the free park shuttle bus, which departs from the Visitor Center Shuttle Bus Terminal, according to the park.
“Grand Canyon National Park staff encourage all visitors to have a safe visit by staying on designated trails and walkways, always keeping a safe distance of at least six feet (2 m) from the edge of the rim and staying behind railings and fences at overlooks,” officials said.