Syracuse, NY — It may be one of the more unusual murder scenes in recent Central New York history: someone covered up the stabbing and beating death of Jacob Giarrusso by pouring his grandmother’s home-cooked chili across the crime scene. Giarrusso, 25, of Salina, was found dead three days later, stuffed in his own car trunk, after being bludgeoned and stabbed seven times, a knife stolen from his grandmother’s kitchen breaking off in his back, police said. His buddy and co-worker, Jacob Stanton, 26, is facing trial this week in Giarrusso’s November 2017 murder. Giarrusso’s body was found in his abandoned car at the Brookwood on the Green apartment complex, off Morgan Road. Read Full Article
Convicted wife-killer wants case overturned
Attorneys for a South New Berlin man serving a 25-year sentence for the 2012 murder of his wife argued last week in Chenango County Court that his conviction should be thrown out. Ganesh “Remy” Ramsaran, now 44, is in custody at Great Meadows Correctional Facility, a maximum-security prison in Washington County. He exhausted his ability to directly appeal his case two years ago, according to Michael Ferrarese, acting Chenango County District Attorney. Ramsaran’s lawyers, Melissa K. Swartz of Greene & Brenneck and J. David Hammond of CDH Law, both in Syracuse, filed a motion in February to set aside his 2014 conviction on the basis that Ramsaran received “ineffective assistance of counsel.” Read Full Article
Lawyer Googled Homicide Defense Advice Instead Of Hiring Experts
NORWICH – Convicted murderer Ganesh R. Ramsaran appeared in Chenango County Court Friday with his lawyers urging the judge to grant them a hearing to discuss the work of defense counsel during the 2014 murder trial. They hope the case can get a new trial. Ramsaran was convicted of murdering his wife and was sentenced to 25 years to life after a jury convicted him on Sept. 23, 2014. Monday the defense asked for the court to hear concerns about the trial and attorneys pointed to several issues in the case they thought deserved further explanation in court. They offered a scathing assessment of Ramsaran’s trial attorney, Gil Garcia, calling his defense incompetent and possibly exploitative. Read Full Article
Watertown man found not guilty of rape; counsels react
WATERTOWN — A judge deliberated for less than 30 minutes Friday before he issued a not guilty verdict for a man accused of raping a girl younger than 8 years old. Sheldon B. Dukes, who was charged with felony first-degree course of sexual conduct against a child and predatory sexual assault against a child, walked out of the courtroom in tears Friday afternoon. Judge Kim H. Martusewicz, who presided over Mr. Dukes’s two-day bench trial in Jefferson County Court, ruled the prosecution did not meet its burden of proof. The not guilty verdict this week comes after a jury couldn’t decide if Dukes was innocent or guilty at a trial in March. Read Full Article
Jury can’t reach verdict in child sex abuse trial
WATERTOWN — A jury could not reach a verdict Friday in Jefferson County Court on a case involving a Watertown man accused of repeatedly sexually abusing a girl. Prosecution against Sheldon B. Dukes, who was charged with felony first-degree course of sexual conduct against a child and predatory sexual assault against a child, will continue despite the jury not reaching a conclusion after a day of deliberations. Chief Assistant District Attorney Patricia L. Dziuba said the case will have to be retried and a new jury selected. Mr. Dukes has been accused of engaging in sexual activities with a girl who was less than 10 years old from June 2011 to July 2013. Read Full Article