A rape suspect who twice won mistrials because key DNA evidence could have come from either him or his twin brother was convicted Wednesday in his third trial.
Darrin Fernandez, 31, was convicted in an April 2001 attack on a Boston woman who said she was repeatedly raped by a man who climbed up a fire escape and broke into her second-floor bedroom while she slept.
Jurors in the previous trials deadlocked, saying afterward that they were unable to agree on whether Fernandez was guilty because DNA from semen found on the woman’s pillowcase could have come from either him or his identical twin.
Prosecutors did not seek to introduce details of the August 2000 rape [for which he was previously convicted] during Fernandez’ two previous trials on the 2001 rape, saying they didn’t want to put that victim through the trauma of testifying again, but they did call her for the third trial. The 27-year-old woman was in court Wednesday and sobbed as the verdict was read.
“There was no doubt he was guilty,” she said, asking to not be identified. “It was disgusting that he got off — disgusting. Now, he’s not going anywhere.”
The best forensic evidence in the world still — often — requires the tough details.
Why where there two misstrials? Did the other twin have no alibi? I assume this guy was charged because they had some sort of evidence against him and not his twin. Was he accusing his twin of the crime? Sometimes I wonder about the people who end up in juries.
I ran into this case in a class I took last year. God, I wish I could remember why they had mistrials. The brother had something to do with it, either no alibi or something. The 2 of them and their lawyer made the prosocution look foolish.
Hopefully someone here will remember or know where to look for the earlier trial records.
John, where do you get the cool visuals??