A New York woman who spent 13 years in prison was released Tuesday after new evidence contradicted her testimony that she helped a Bronx hitman commit murders 25 years ago.
Kimberly Hanzlik, 59, was accused of tipping off Meldish about sitting at the French Tavern on East Tremont Avenue in the Throggs Neck neighborhood of the Bronx on March 21, 1999. He was convicted in 2011 along with Joseph Meldish. Meldish then entered the facility and shot and killed Joseph Brown, who resembled his brother Thomas Brown.
Mr. Handzlik was sentenced to 20 years to life in state prison, and Mr. Meldisch was sentenced to 25 years to life in state prison. But new evidence released by the Bronx District Attorney's Office casts doubt on whether the victim's wife could identify Handzlik as being at the crime scene.
At a hearing Tuesday at the Bronx Hall of Justice, Administrative Judge Alvin Yearwood vacated the conviction, dropped the charges, sealed the case against Handzlik, and ordered his release from state prison. The motion for order was granted.
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A New York woman who spent 13 years in prison has been released after new evidence contradicted her testimony that she helped a hitman commit murders. (St. Petersburg)
“Ms. Handzlik served 13 years in prison based on her trial testimony, which does not meet today's standards of reliability given the discovery of new information,” Darcel, the Bronx district attorney, said in a statement. “We cannot support this,” he said. Clark, who joined the call for the conviction to be vacated and the charges dismissed, said in a statement: “We understand the pain and suffering this has caused the victim's family, but in the interest of justice we are dropping the charges against Mr. Handzlik.”
Ms Meldish is said to have called police when ex-drug dealer Thomas Brown broke into her home in retaliation after he refused to lend her money for a deal.
Ms. Handzlik, who was a crack-addicted prostitute at the time, went with Ms. Meldish and another man to a bar known to have been frequented by Mr. Thomas Brown. She said she believed she had seen them sitting together and told Meldish they were inside the store.
Kimberly Handzlik, 59, was convicted along with gunman Joseph Meldish in 2011 for allegedly tipping off Meldish to the location of targets. (St. Petersburg)
Meldish then went inside and shot the man eight times, killing him, and the victim was later identified as Joseph Brown.
And Meldysh's getaway driver testified that Handzlik helped them commit the crime.
Joseph Brown's wife testified that she saw Handzlik at a bar before the shooting. However, a re-examination of the case in 2021 at the request of Handzlik's lawyer revealed that she first identified him in 2006, seven years after the murder.
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Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark said, “While we understand the pain and suffering this is causing the victim's family, in the interests of justice we are dismissing the charges against Mr. Handzlik.” (St. Petersburg)
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The identification was also secured by a New York City police detective, now deceased, who was recently found to have extorted false identification in an unrelated case.
Additionally, previously undisclosed police documents from 1999 include information from the getaway driver that Handzlik was not actually present at the time of the incident.
