Bernice Martin
Cold Case File
Who Murdered Bernice Martin
Murdered
March 8 1987
On March 8, 1987, fire fighters were called to the Mayfair Gardens Elderly Housing Complex, Manchester, Connecticut. They found Mrs. Bernice Martin, 88 years old, barely breathing, and badly beaten. She died later that evening in the hospital.
Convicted for her murder was her own granddaughter’s former husband, Richard A. Lapointe. To many, Richard Lapointe was innocent and wrongfully convicted.
Was this mentally retarded man with Dandy Walker Syndrome set up by police simply to ‘solve’ the murder?
The Murder of Bernice Martin
From The Beginning
On the evening of March 8, 1987, Nathalie Howard, the daughter of Bernice Martin, tried to reach her mother by phone but there was no answer. She decided to call Karen, her niece and, at that time, wife to Richard Lapointe. Karen sent Richard to check on her grandmother, Bernice Martin.
When Richard arrived at Mrs. Martin’s apartment, he found the apartment completely dark. The door was warm and since he did not know what to do, he went to one of the neighbors he knew, Mrs. Jeannette King. There, he called Karen.
Shortly after 8:00 pm, while Lapointe was on the phone with Karen, Mrs. Paulette DeRocco drove down North Main Street by the Mayfair Gardens Elderly Housing Complex when a man coming from the driveway leading to the senior housing complex, ran directly in front of her car. She almost struck him and swerved to avoid hitting him.
“I almost struck this man when he ran out in front of me. I had a red light at the intersections of North Main and Main Streets so I stopped. I then saw this man continue to run southeast and ran behind a brick building, 150 No. Main St. That driveway that this man had come from was the same one I saw the State Police Crime Van parked at the very next day on my way to work. When I swerved to miss this man with my car he never even looked up or turned around.
This man was a white male about 35-40 years old, about 5’10-5’11, black hair that was straight and looked a mess, like he needed a haircut. Med build not fat or skinny. He was wearing navy blue pants (dark), a chamois type shirt that had the tails hanging out which was dark navy blue, long-sleeved, black shoes not sneakers, and I didn’t see him carrying anything in his hands. I saw his face from the side and I don’t recall any facial hair.”
Meanwhile, Karen sent Richard back to the apartment. The fact that the apartment was dark sounded strange to Karen since her grandmother is “a night owl.” Back in front of Mrs. Martin’s apartment door, Richard now noticed smoke. He went back to Mrs. King and there he called 911. He waited with Mrs. King for the fire department to arrive. Richard’s 911 call was logged in at 8:27 pm. All that time he was in full view of Mrs. King.
The Crime Scene
The fire department found the front door locked but the glass sliding door in the back was open. The curtain that should have been on the sliding door was on the floor. A pried open latch on the rear screen door was clearly the point of entry. Bernice Martin was lying near the entrance of the bedroom, naked, except for some shredded clothing on her upper body. There was a piece of red fabric tied to a piece of bluish gray fabric tightly knotted with Boy Scout knots around her neck and arms. She had 10 less severe stab wounds in the back, and 1 three-inch deep stab wound in the abdomen.
All Mrs. Martin’s wounds were suffered premortem, i.e., while she was still alive. During the autopsy, the medical examiner concluded that Bernice Martin had been strangled with a blunt object. There was also evidence of sexual assault; however, a blunt object caused the vaginal trauma. No semen was found in her body. The blunt weapon was never found. It could have been a household item that has always been overlooked.
The assault had started in the bedroom. Semen and blood were found on the bed. A knife blade was found in the bedding. It later tested negative for blood. What may have been a charred handle of the knife was found in the living room. It also tested negative for blood. However, it was never conclusively established whether the knife blade was part of the murder weapon or not.
A pair of men’s gloves was found in the bedroom. The left glove was found on the left side of the bed above the bloodstain. The right glove was found to the left of the bed on the floor. The gloves did not belong to Lapointe. They are obviously too big for him and they did not belong to Bernice Martin either.
The attacker had set several fires. One was set on the living room couch, one near the refrigerator door handle, and one near a kitchen drawer handle. Unfortunately, no fingerprints were found. Police did take a partial print from the handle of the glass sliding door of a neighboring apartment, where someone had cut the screen door the night before.
Dandy Walker Syndrome
Dandy-Walker Syndrome is a congenital brain malformation involving the cerebellum (an area of the back of the brain that coordinates movement) and the fluid-filled spaces around it. The key features of this syndrome are an enlargement of the fourth ventricle (a small channel that allows fluid to flow freely between the upper and lower areas of the brain and spinal cord), a partial or complete absence of the area of the brain between the two cerebellar hemispheres (cerebellar vermis), and cyst formation near the lowest part of the skull. An increase in the size and pressure of the fluid spaces surrounding the brain (hydrocephalus) may also be present. The syndrome can appear dramatically or develop unnoticed. Symptoms, which often occur in early infancy, include slow motor development and progressive enlargement of the skull. In older children, symptoms of increased intracranial pressure (pressure within the skull) such as irritability and vomiting, and signs of cerebellar dysfunction such as unsteadiness, lack of muscle coordination, or jerky movements of the eyes may occur. Other symptoms include increased head circumference, bulging at the back of the skull, abnormal breathing problems, and problems with the nerves that control the eyes, face and neck. Dandy-Walker Syndrome is sometimes associated with disorders of other areas of the central nervous system, including absence of the area made up of nerve fibers connecting the two cerebral hemispheres (corpus callosum) and malformations of the heart, face, limbs, fingers and toes. (Source: ninds.nih.gov)
The Investigation
The Manchester Police, led by Detective Michael Ludlow, rounded up about 38 suspects but they failed to solve the crime. Forensic test results on the blood and semen samples were inconclusive. The case was dormant until in June 1989, Detective Paul Lombardo was assigned to review the case. The Bernice Martin murder was only his second homicide investigation. He had been a detective for less than two years.
Det. Lombardo immediately focused solely on Richard Lapointe as his only suspect, despite the fact that earlier there had been two other suspects, both of whom had histories of violence and sexual assault. Police had interviewed Lapointe in 1987 since he had discovered the fire and called 911. Lombardo asked Lapointe to provide a saliva sample for comparisons. Lapointe cooperated without understanding exactly why. He was under the impression that he was helping the police.
On July 4, 1989, Lapointe went to police headquarters as requested. There, he waived his Miranda Rights and was accused of murdering Bernice Martin. Without legal counsel, Detectives Paul Lombardo and others interrogated this retarded man for 9½ hours.
To make sure they would get their desired results, police had fabricated props. The interrogation took place in a room called the Bernice Martin Homicide Task Force room.
The room was filled with charts, posters with make-believe DNA schedules, genetic markers and RH factors, crime scene pictures, and among the names of the detectives listed as working on the case, were Gannon & Friday, from the television series “Dragnet.”
After 9½ exhausting hours without a lawyer, Lapointe signed three confessions. Then he was free to go home although police had literally accused him of murder.
“While Lapointe was questioned at headquarters, Det. Morrissey, secretly wearing a wire, questioned his wife Karen. The wiretap recording was kept hidden from the defense.”
Karen Lapointe has cerebral palsy with limited intellectual capacities. She later told the defense that they threatened to take their son Sean away from her, if she did not cooperate.
The tape proved later on that Det. Morrissey lied to Karen. He said that police had DNA to prove Lapointe’s guilt. He had also claimed that Lapointe had cut his hand while in the apartment, that Mrs. Martin’s neighbors had heard screams, and had seen Lapointe carrying something inside the apartment. The recording confirms that the detective threatened she would lose her son if she did not give in.
Karen did not give in and to this day, despite a divorce from Richard, stands by her statement.
On July 5, 1989, Lapointe was officially arrested for the brutal murder and rape of Bernice Martin.
The Confession (s)
Confession I (signed)
On March 8, 1987, I was responsible for Bernice Martin’s death and it was an accident. My mind went blank
Confession II (signed)
“I, Richard A. Lapointe, do hereby give the following statement to Detective Paul R. Lombardo of my own free will, free of any threats or promises; that on March 8, 1987, I went to visit Bernice Martin with my wife and son. We left the apartment in the late afternoon and went home. I left my home sometime after that to take the dog for a walk. I was at Bernice’s apartment with the dog.”
“We were both there together and the time was right. I probably made a pass at her and she said no. So I hit her and I strangled her. If the evidence shows I was there, and that I killed her, then I killed her, but I don’t remember being there. I made a pass at Bernice because she was a nice person and I thought that I could get somewhere with her. She was like a grandmother to me that I never had.”
Confession III (signed)
After being home awhile I left to walk the dog. I then walked back up to Bernice’s apartment (Remember that the police found Lapointe at King’s without a dog. They did not find a dog inside Mrs. Martin’s apartment or anywhere else) and she invited me in. We each had a cup of coffee, I think Bernice had tea and I sat on the couch. I remember having my matches and my smoking pipe in my jacket pocket.
After my coffee I went into the bathroom. When I came out Bernice was in the bedroom combing her hair. She was wearing a pink house coat type of outer wear with no bra. (Police did not find a pink house coat at the crime scene). I could see her breasts when she bent over. (Mrs. Martin was 88, known for her modesty, and was always properly dressed). I grabbed her with my hand around her waist area. When I did that she pushed me. I threw her on the bed and took off her underwear because I wanted to have intercourse with her (Mrs. Martin was wearing a blouse that was cut open!). I got my penis inside her for a few strokes and then pulled out and masturbated (Mrs. Martin was raped with a blunt object). I did cum on the bed spread when I was finished. I had already thrown her underwear on the right side of the bed (So after two years, he remembers this detail, or maybe he was coached or shown a crime scene photo?).
After the sex she said she was going to tell my wife Karen. I then went to the kitchen and got a steak knife with a hard plastic brown handle and stabbed Bernice in the stomach while she was laying on the couch. (There was no forensic evidence she was stabbed while on the couch. She was stabbed on the bed). The rest of the incident I do not recall although I admit to having strangled her. (He left out the three fires he supposedly set. Lapointe later explained that he strangled Mrs. Martin with his bare hands. The coroner’s report however, stated that Mrs. Martin suffered a compression strangulation caused by pressure with a blunt object to the right side of her neck. There were no contusions on the opposite sides of the neck to support manual strangulation. The police never checked the apartment for blunt objects that could have been used to either rape and/or strangle Bernice Martin.)
Confession IV (Not signed, text was found in Det. Lombardo’s notebook)
I probably made a pass at her and she said no. So I probably hit her. And I strangled her. If all the evidence shows I was there then it was me that did it. We were both there and the time was right. I went home to eat and Aunt Nat called then I went back to the house.
The Trial
The jury found Richard guilty of capital felony, arson murder, felony murder, murder, arson in the first degree, assault in the first degree, sexual assault in the first degree, sexual assault in the third degree, kidnapping in the first degree. The prosecution sought the death penalty but the jury instead sentenced Richard to life imprisonment plus sixty years, without possibility of release.
Lapointe spent 26 years behind bars for the 1987 rape and murder of his ex-wife’s grandmother, 88-year-old Bernice Martin. On March 25, 2009, the Connecticut Appellate Court finally granted Richard Lapointe a new trial.
On April 15, 2015, Richard Lapointe was released on $250,000 bond and a 7am to 7pm curfew. On October 2, 2015, stating that new DNA testing did not implicate Richard and that they did not have enough evidence to try the case again. Judge Joan Alexander dismissed the case. Richard was exonerated and set free.
Richard Lapointe died on August 4, 2020.
So the question remains: Who really did murder Bernice Martin?
Source: defrosting cold cases | centurion.org | reuters.com
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