In a Brooklyn bachelorette's apartment, a striking blonde woman is entertaining a
younger man.
But as they chatter over wine and weed, a hidden recorder is secretly taping every moment
of their conversation.
Shockingly, the woman is the mother of convicted murderer John Giuca – and this is her final
desperate attempt at setting her son free.
Mark Fisher was a 19-year-old sophomore at Fairfield University in Connecticut, when
he made his first unsupervised trip to New York City.
A star player on the football team, he was well-liked by students and teachers alike.
And at 6 feet 5 inches tall, the athlete was pretty popular with the ladies as well.
On October 11, 2003, Fisher arrived in Manhattan, keen to enjoy a weekend away from his studies.
And there, in a bar on the Upper East Side, he met a girl who also studied at Fairfield.
Fisher subsequently hit it off with one of the girl's female friends and ended up joining
their party for the evening.
Over the course of the evening, the group dwindled to five, with Fisher's university
friend and her companion being the only women present.
Along with Fisher, there were two other men – Albert Cleary, who roomed with the boyfriend
of Fisher's acquaintance, and a man named John Giuca, who was a stranger to the others.
Although the party tried to go on to another bar, their fake I D, were rumbled and some
of them were refused entry.
Instead, Cleary invited the women – who had missed the last train home – to his
house.
Fisher however, was not asked along, something his new friend wasn't best pleased about.
Uncomfortable with leaving the intoxicated Fisher alone in an unfamiliar city, the girl
refused Cleary's invitation.
As a compromise, Giuca suggested that the group take a trip to the Brooklyn home of
his parents, who were out of town.
There, they were joined by a number of others, and an impromptu party took place.
However, according to some witnesses, things soon took an uncomfortable turn.
Apparently, some of the other men present seemed to resent Fisher, and the attention
that he was getting from the women.
And when Antonio Russo, a 17-year-old with a criminal past arrived, Cleary allegedly
warned Fisher that things might get heated.
Nonetheless, Fisher and the two women stayed at the house and eventually fell asleep.
At some point in the early hours of the morning, Fisher got up and left Giuca's parents'
house.
Then, at 6:30 am, police arrived in the neighborhood to investigate reports of gunfire.
And by 7:00 am, they were retrieving Fisher's bullet-ridden body from the street, just three
blocks from where the party had taken place.
When investigators spoke to Giuca, he told them that he had been asleep when the shooting
had taken place.
Moreover, he claimed to have last seen Fisher on the sofa at the house.
However, suspicion soon fell on Giuca and Russo, and the two friends found themselves
at the center of a media circus that quickly spiraled out of control.
As the tabloids dubbed the murder the "grid-kid slay" in reference to Fisher's promising
football career, the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office began to formulate their own theory
about what had happened that fateful night.
Apparently, they believed that Giuca was the head of a small-time gang known as the Ghetto
Mafia, and that he had directed Russo to slaughter Fisher in order to boost their reputation.
On November 19 2004, the authorities arrested Russo, followed by Giuca the month after that.
And as their trials went on, a number of witnesses stepped forward to persuade the jury of the
two men's guilt.
Among them was Cleary, who claimed that Giuca had admitted his involvement in the crime
just hours after Fisher's body was found.
Although Giuca denied any involvement in the crime, the evidence against him was stacking
up.
And in October 2005, a jury took just two hours to return a guilty verdict.
Guica was sentenced to 25 years behind bars, and his heartbroken mother Doreen was left
to imagine life without her eldest son.
Like many mothers of convicted men, Doreen was convinced of her son's innocence – and
she wasn't the only one.
In fact, following the trial, a Free John Giuca campaign was launched, with organizers
keen to highlight several inconsistencies in the prosecution.
And while Giuca languished in New York's Upstate Correctional Facility, Doreen began
to formulate a plan.
Hoping to secure a retrial for Giuca, Doreen decided to scrutinize the jury that had convicted
him.
If there had been any misconduct, she reasoned, her son might get another chance.
But at first, her efforts came to nothing.
Then, she zeroed in on 31-year-old Jason Allo, a man who had allegedly been overheard talking
about drugs during the trial.
However, Doreen's plan went far further than simply spying on Allo.
Suspecting that he may have known Giuca before the trial – a condition that would have
deemed him unsuitable for jury duty – she moved into an apartment close to where he
lived.
And armed with a new look to prevent him from recognizing her, she succeeded in befriending
him.
Over the course of several months, Doreen – going by the name Dee – slowly ingratiated
herself into Allo's life.
Soon, the pair had become late-night drinking companions, and Doreen often cooked for Allo
in her rented apartment.
But unknown to him, she was secretly recording all of their conversations, hoping to gather
evidence to overturn her son's conviction.
Eventually, Allo began to open up about his involvement in the murder case.
On tape, Doreen caught him confessing to having a connection with Giuca and Russo before the
trial.
Moreover, Allo even admitted that he knew this meant he shouldn't have been on the
jury.
Vindicated, she took the recordings to Giuca's attorney, who argued that Allo's statements
proved that Giuca did not receive a fair trial.
But despite Doreen's efforts, the allegations of misconduct were dismissed.
According to four judges, the evidence – even if true – was not enough to overturn the
guilty verdict.
But by that time, Doreen had attracted national media attention, and the Free John Giuca campaign
began gathering pace.
In February 2014 another attorney requested that Giuca's conviction be overturned.
As well as Allo's misconduct, they also cited a number of inconsistencies on behalf
of the prosecution.
However, in June 2016, this appeal was also denied.
Was all of Doreen's hard work about to go to waste ?
Happily for her, it wasn't. Because on February 7, 2018 – almost 15 years after Fisher's
murder – an appellate court voted unanimously to overturn Giuca's conviction.
Now 34 years old, he remains incarcerated in the more comfortable conditions of New
York City's Rikers Island jail, awaiting a second trial.
And although prosecutors remain convinced of his guilt, for Doreen it's the second
chance that she risked everything to achieve.
For more infomation >> 6.9-Magnitude Earthquake Rattles Hawaii As Volcano Spews Lava | TODAY - Duration: 2:43. 
For more infomation >> 9 Items RIOTERS Want To Make - League of Legends - Duration: 13:56. 
For more infomation >> Hawaii Residents Face Uncertainty As Lava, Toxic Gas Continue To Spew | Sunday TODAY - Duration: 2:31. 
For more infomation >> 'Solo' Is Ron Howard's Latest Chapter In his Own Hollywood Saga | Sunday TODAY - Duration: 9:01. 
For more infomation >> These People Make At Least $50,000 A Year Playing Video Games (Really!) | Sunday TODAY - Duration: 4:15. 
For more infomation >> Rudy Giuliani Says He's 'Still Learning' The Facts About Stormy Daniels Case | Sunday TODAY - Duration: 2:58. 
For more infomation >> 'He Was The Missing Part': How This Family Changed After Helping Struggling Teen | Sunday TODAY - Duration: 4:21. 
For more infomation >> Aterciopelados: "Alejarse de la presión y disfrutar la música" | En Primer Plano | El Espectador - Duration: 7:55. 
For more infomation >> 복면가왕, 도지원 열애? "서울뚝배기 탤런트 나이 결혼 이상형 발레 전공 몸매" 공개|K-News - Duration: 9:23. 
For more infomation >> Los Angeles Angels @ Seattle Mariners - MLB The Show 18 Real Upcoming Game Matchups Series - Duration: 43:50. 
For more infomation >> L'étrange choix du prince Harry et de Meghan Markle pour leur nuit de noces - Duration: 2:50. 
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét