Attorneys for men convicted of 1997 murder in Chester will ask for new trial
Attorneys for men convicted of 1997 murder in Chester will ask for new trial
Derrick Chappell, 41, Morton Johnson, 42, and Samuel Grasty, 46, were teenagers in 1997 when they were convicted of the October beating death of 70-year-old Henrietta Nickens inside her Chester apartment. A quarter-century later, their attorneys - with help for the past eight years from the Innocence Project - believe modern DNA testing shows their clients were not the killers.
CHESTER, Pa. - The attorneys for three Delaware County men jailed for a decades-old murder will ask a judge for a new trial in hopes to prove their clients' innocence.
Derrick Chappell, 41, Morton Johnson, 42, and Samuel Grasty, 46, were teenagers in 1997 when they were convicted of the October beating death of 70-year-old Henrietta Nickens inside her Chester apartment.
A quarter-century later, their attorneys - with help for the past eight years from the Innocence Project - believe modern DNA testing shows their clients were not the killers. Vanessa Potkin, the Director of Special Litigation with the Innocence Project, said "there is no question in my mind that these three men are innocent and spent decades in prison for a crime somebody else committed."
Investigators found DNA at the bloody crime scene nearly three decades ago, but none of it matched up to the three defendants. Attorney David Haase from Shook, Hardy and Bacon called the crime scene "brutal," and reiterated that none of the blood, hair, fingerprints or semen samples tied the men to the murder.
MORE LOCAL HEADLINES
- Suspect charged in Gretchen Harrington’s 1975 murder in Delaware County
- Police: Woman shot to death while sitting in car in Feltonville
- Man, 27, fatally shot by police after shooting at officers in Allentown, officials say
Meanwhile, the Delaware County District Attorney's Office pushed back by saying that none of the evidence found at the home would likely reverse the outcomes of the verdicts.
"Just because there is an absence of DNA of a defendant at a crime scene doesn't mean they are innocent," District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer said. "I think people who watch too much CSI or TV don't quite understand that people can commit vile acts and not leave DNA at the scene."
The three men turned down plea deals during their trial as an unwavering commitment to their innocence. Their attorneys believe the person who killed Henrietta Nickens was never found.
"These three guys were so young when this happened," Nilam Sanjhvi from the Innocence Project told FOX 29. "They've had so many years taken from them and they physical evidence is there, and unfortunately we're still getting opposition."
Now, after spending more than half their lives in prison, a Delaware County judge will decide whether to grant them a new trial as their family awaits.
"I watched my son go to jail as a child, into a man, into an old man," Cynthia Chappell, the mother or Derrick Chappell, said. "They robbed me, they robbed us, and we want him home."