A jury on Friday convicted a man of killing a woman near Buffalo in 1993, ending his third trial after a decades-long legal journey.
Brian Scott Lorenz, 56, was convicted in 1994 along with another man, James Pugh, of murdering Deborah Mendel. The 33-year-old nursing student and mother of two was stabbed dozens of times and strangled inside her Tonawanda home that year. Her body was found by her 10-year-old daughter.
Both Lorenz and Pugh denied involvement in the murder. Judge in 2023 He ordered a new trial for the men, After new tests, their DNA was not found at the crime scene, including on the knife used in the attack. The judge also said the prosecution withheld some evidence that could have helped the defence.
In December, prosecutors They dropped their efforts to retry Pughjust as a new trial was scheduled to begin. They admitted they could no longer meet the burden of proof because of “our inability to present the same evidence that was deemed admissible at the original trial and the unavailability of crucial witnesses more than 30 years later.”
While Lorenz’s second trial was last year It ended in a mistrial After the jury deadlocked, prosecutors continued to pursue their case against him. Lorenz was quickly found guilty on Friday, after a two-week trial, of murder and robbery.
Lorenz’s lawyers, who have worked to exonerate him for years, plan to appeal the decision.
“It’s very scary,” Ilan M. Mazel, one of Lorenz’s lawyers, told the New York Times. “I think innocence should be important. I think the truth should be important.”
Representatives of Mindel’s family, including her sister and younger daughter, were in court on Friday to watch the proceedings. After the sentencing, they thanked Erie County District Attorney Michael J. Kane.
“This outcome is not just a legal victory: it is a testament to the persistence of truth and the unwavering commitment of dedicated public servants charged with the pursuit of justice,” Kaine said in a statement.
Police began investigating Lorenz and Pugh based on the theory that they had killed Mendel during a home burglary. They were charged after Lorenz, who was under arrest for another crime in Iowa, confessed to killing Mendel and implicating Pugh. Lorenz later said it was a false confession.