Community Corner

Cheshire Man Convicted in New Haven Murder Bribe Case

The man, a former Cheshire police officer, was a private investigator when he allegedly bribed the witness in the murder trial of a New Haven grocery store owner.

A former Cheshire police officer turned private invstigator who was accused of bribing a witness involved in a murder trial was found guilty Monday of bribing and tampering with a witness.

The New Haven Register reports that Gerald O’Donnell, 69, will be sentenced Jan. 6, when he faces a maximum 20 years in prison. His attorney, Norman Pattis, told the Associated Press that he plans to appeal the verdicts.

According to the report, O'Donnell, a former Cheshire police officer and former inspector in the New Haven state’s attorney’s office, offered a witness in a New Haven murder trial money and other items to recant her testimony, which she did, leading to the release of the two men convicted of killing a New Haven grocery shop owner in 1993.

Eventually one of the men returned to prison two years ago the state Supreme Court overturned that ruling and after a new trial. The other man has since died.

O'Donnell is being held in lieu of $125,000 bond. 




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