High-profile forensic scientist Henry Lee has been found liable for allegedly fabricating evidence in a murder case that led to the convictions being overturned, the Associated Press reports.
On Friday, a federal judge ruled that a lawsuit brought by two men who were initially convicted of the murder – Ralph “Ricky” Birch and Shawn Henning – can proceed to trial.
Birch and Henning were convicted in the 1985 death of Everett Carr based partly on Lee’s testimony about what he said was apparent blood found on a towel in the victim’s home.
In 2020, a judge vacated the convictions and Birch and Henning sued authorities and Lee for wrongful conviction.
At the time of the 2020 ruling, Lee denied any wrongdoing, telling reporters: “In my 57-year career, I have investigated over 8,000 cases and never, ever was accused of any wrongdoing or for testifying intentionally wrong. This is the first case that I have to defend myself,” Lee said, according to NBC Connecticut.
But subsequent tests after the trial showed that the substance on the towel was not blood. In Friday’s ruling, U.S. District Judge Victor Bolden wrote that Lee had not provided evidence to support his testimony.
“Other than stating that he performed the test, however, the record contains no evidence that any such test was performed,” Bolden wrote, according to the decision.
“In fact, as plaintiffs noted, Dr. Lee’s own experts concluded that there is no ‘written documentation or photographic’ evidence that Dr. Lee performed the TMB blood test. And there is evidence in this record that the tests actually conducted did not indicate the presence of blood.”
Lee’s testimony during the trial was important because there was no physical evidence connecting Birch and Henning to the crime.
Friday’s decision, which granted the men’s motion for summary judgment in their quest for damages, means the case can now go to trial. The parties also could settle.
The 1985 case occurred before Lee became a prominent expert witness. He gained notoriety for testifying in the O.J. Simpson trial in 1995. He also has been involved in the JonBenet Ramsey case in Colorado, the murder trial of Scott Peterson, and the Phil Spector murder trial.
Lee did not immediately respond to comment on Friday, according to the AP.
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast. Listen to the latest episode:
[Feature Photo: FILE – In this May 14, 2013, file photo, O.J. Simpson appears at an evidentiary hearing in Clark County District Court in Las Vegas. On Friday, June 18, 2021, Simpson’s lawyer says he’ll keep fighting recent court orders in Nevada that the former football star owes least $60 million in judgments stemming from the 1994 killings of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ron Goldman. (Ethan Miller via AP, Pool, File)]
