Tessa Majors Murder: Blame the Police is Common Defense Strategy

It’s predictable enough.   When the facts are in your favor, you pound the facts.   When the facts are not in your favor, you pound the police officers involved in the investigation. 

It’s old news right now (as things go today) that the lawyer for the thirteen year old arrested in connection with the murder of Tessa Majors has launched a smear campaign against Wilfredo  Acevedo, a detective who interviewed and obtained the boy’s admission to  having gone to Morningside Park with his friends with the express purpose of robbing someone.  

They passed up on a male victim and then decided on Tessa Majors, a first year student at Barnard.  The thirteen year old admitted to being present at the stabbing-slashing murder, picking up a knife and handing it to teen who struck the fatal blows,  and provided a horrific detailed narrative about how the murder was committed. 

With few options, Defense attorney Hannah Kaplan influenceD news media to write smashing 20-point headlines about  how Acevedo was sued   times in   unconnected cases.  I find it amazing that so many news organizations, absent anything real to report, went with the story and were quite willing to smear the detective.

But Kapan’s wave of routine anti-cop strategy has already splashed harmlessly ashore.  While liberal media enjoyed a short feeding frenzy, I was rather impressed that CNN didn’t jump face forward into that sinkhole and is   reporting the words of New York’s Police Commissioner: 

New York Police Department Commissioner Dermot Shea said Detective Wilfredo Acevedo has never been found to have made a single false statement or falsely arrested anyone and touted his exemplary record of service.

The police union president put it more bluntly, calling out Hanna Kaplan for using a "commonly used strategy employed by defense attorneys" to undermine investigations.  And for the record, Police Commisisoner Shea cites Acevedo’s outstanding record as a police investigator:

"The detective singled out here has made 237 arrests including 93 felony arrests removing dangerous criminals from our streets. He has been recognized with 24 department medals. He has never been found to have made a single false statement or falsely arrested anyone by either the Department, the (Civilian Complaint Review Board), any Civil Court or District Attorney."

  I guess since Acevedo is Hispanic,  defense lawyer Hannah Kaplan was probably frustrated that she couldn’t play the race card along with her other attempts to poison the jury pool.  It was smart for the police, in the early going, not to identify the assailants as persons of color, leaving open the possibility which occurred to me and others — that perhaps the assailants were white thugs.  Remove all phony justifications for murder and what do you have?  Just what it looks like — some   young, very dangerous, very vicious punks who wanted to find easy prey.

So where is this case at right now?  Frankly, it’s only the police who might have the answer, though they have to be a bit frustrated by sixth amendment protections against an accused. 

Here’s the short brief about where things stand:

·       Police have already questioned another teen implicated by the thirteen year old and didn’t have enough evidence to charge him. He was let go as the law requires. The only evidence announced so far is a video that reportedly shows the attack, and the eyewitness account of the thirteen-year-old which is self-serving.  Neither the thirteen-year old nor the released fourteen year old are seen stabbing Tessa Majors.   

·       Another fourteen year old, whose picture is shown above, is being sought as the one who stabbed and slashed Tessa Majors to death.  It is believed that he has left New York and traveled down south to hide among family connections.  Being fourteen, this person does not have a driver’s license and so it’s logical to believe he is being abetted as a fugitive by friends and/or relatives.