Two Brooklyn men who were cleared last year of a 1992 kidnapping and murder of a teen are now claiming the New York Police Department cops who handled the case framed them. Both men claimed they were innocent from the very beginning and have already filed civil suits against the city.
The two men, Everton Wagstaffe and Reginald Connor, were convicted for the abduction and death of 16-year-old Jennifer Negron in 1992. Found in East New York, Negron was strangled and stabbed, according to the New York Post. Wagstaffe was in prison for 23 years, while Connor spent 15 years behind bars. The rape kit used in the investigation was destroyed after the incident and the DNA results from the hairs on the girl's body eliminated both men from the case.
Everton Wagstaffe spent 23 years behind bars for a crime he did not commit: https://t.co/kVsnE40FY3 #CriminalDefense pic.twitter.com/42yNgs0ENN
— Tipp & Buley, P.C. (@TippBuleyLaw) August 8, 2015
The men are claiming the investigation was not thorough and the testimonies were falsified. Their suits also said the police in the 75th Precinct allegedly targeted to close cases because, at the time, 100 murders occurred annually in that area, according to the New York Daily News.
In September 2014, their case was reviewed and dismissed by the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office. In the '80s and '90s, the murder rate was soaring, which led to unsolved cases that resulted in mostly unjust convictions.
During the investigation, the District Attorney's office figured the case lacked evidence, which led to the dismissal of the convictions. The Appellate Division of the state Supreme Court made accusations that the prosecutors of the case were allegedly "burying" evidence, according to the Village Voice.
