Closing Arguments Center Around DNA Evidence In Chanel Lewis Retrial
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – Closing arguments began Monday in the retrial of Chanel Lewis, who’s accused of killing Queens jogger Karina Vetrano in 2016.
Lewis, 22, of East New York, allegedly strangled and sexually assaulted the 30-year-old while she was out for a jog through Spring Creek Park in Howard Beach. His first trial ended in a mistrial last November.
Prosecutors said Lewis’s DNA was found on Vetrano’s body. His defense team, however, urged the jury to be skeptical.
“[Investigators] took no elimination samples from anyone, including people at the scene,” defense attorney Robert Moeller said Monday. “You can see from the evidence things that could have been done weren’t done,” defense attorney Robert Moeller said Monday.
Web Extra: Defense Attorney Robert Moeller Delivers Closing Arguments
The argument comes after an anonymous letter, allegedly written by an NYPD detective, was sent to the defense Friday, claiming prosecutors withheld vital evidence about the investigation. The letter said police were initially “looking for two jacked up white guys who are from Howard Beach” but only took DNA swabs from African American men.
On Monday, the judge denied a request from the defense asking for a hearing on this.
The NYPD said over the last two years it “already exhaustively examined the issues in this anonymous, 11th-hour letter, a missive riddled with falsehoods and inaccuracies.”
Sanford Rubenstein, a civil rights attorney who has also handed criminal cases, told CBS2’s Lisa Rozner once closing arguments end, a verdict could come down as soon as today.
“You never know what a jury is going to do. I know that from practicing law over 45 years,” he said.
The prosecution is next up in closing arguments.
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April 01, 2019 at 09:58PM
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