$632,782 Awarded to Wrongfully Arrested Man
$632,782 Awarded to Wrongfully Arrested Man
A Massachusetts federal district court entered a judgment for $632,782 after a jury found a man was falsely arrested for the murder of a 75-year-old woman.
The woman was stabbed at least 29 times and sustained serious head trauma. The cause of death was ruled to be strangulation. Edmund Burke became a prime suspect in the December 1, 1998 murder that occurred in a park near his home.
Unrepresented by counsel, he cooperated completely with law enforcement during the investigation. He gave a DNA sample, palm prints, and a mold of his teeth. The palm prints did not match a print on the victim’s thigh, but a medical examiner said the bite mark on the victim’s breast matched Burke “to a reasonable scientific certainty.” Based on the medical examiner’s finding, Burke was arrested on December 10, at his home, as a “carnival atmosphere” of news media and onlookers watched.
On the same day of his arrest, it was determined that the DNA exculpated Burke. Nonetheless, police proclaimed, “every lead led to Edmund Burke.” Burke, though, was not released until January 20, 1999, when the charges against him were finally dismissed. Another man was subsequently charged and convicted of the murder.
On December 11, 2006, the jury found Burke’s Fourth Amendment right to be free of arrest without probable cause was violated, and awarded him $400,000. The court awarded $76,266.62 in interest, $143,882.50 in attorney fees, and $12,632.89 in costs. Burke was represented by Boston attorneys, Susan E. Devlin and Robert S. Sinsheimer.
See: Burke V. Town of Walpole, U.S.D.C. (Mass.), Case No. 1:00-cv-10376
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Related legal case
Burke V. Town of Walpole
| Year | 2006 |
|---|---|
| Cite | U.S.D.C. (Mass.), Case No. 1:00-cv-10376 |
| Level | District Court |
| Conclusion | Jury Verdict |
| Attorney Fees | 143,882.50 |
| Damages | 400,000.00 |