Jury set to get retrial in '91 murder, rape of Nicetown woman, 77

A defense lawyer on Monday called for Anthony Wright to be acquitted on rape and murder charges, citing the presence of another man's DNA in the victim's body and asking: "What better evidence could there be?"

Samuel Silver addressed the jury for three hours as both defense and prosecution offered closing arguments. Wright, 44, is being retried in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court in the 1991 killing of 77-year-old Louise Talley in her Nicetown home.

"This is not TV," Silver told the jury. "This is about real life, and this is about an innocent man who has been waiting 25 years for justice. . . . We can put an end to Tony Wright's nightmare, because now we have the scientific evidence that he is not guilty."

Assistant District Attorney Bridget Kirn agreed that the case was about justice.

"You heard the word innocence over and over," she told jurors. "You know who is innocent? Louise Talley."

She described an elderly, cautious homeowner who would have opened her door only to someone she knew, like the defendant.

That Wright's DNA was not found in Talley's body only corroborated what the defendant told police in his statement - that he had not ejaculated while raping his victim, Kirn said.

The District Attorney's Office agreed to a new trial in 2014 after DNA tests were conducted at the defense's request. The DNA led investigators to Ronnie Byrd, a former Nicetown crack addict who died in a South Carolina prison at age 62.

"Nobody is saying Ronnie Byrd's DNA isn't in her," the prosecutor said. But that must be because Byrd took part in the crime, she told jurors.

DNA tests showed that Wright's DNA was not on clothing - a black-and-red Chicago Bulls sweatshirt, jeans, and a pair of black FILA sneakers - police said he admitted wearing during the attack. Police said they found the clothes in Wright's bedroom, exactly where he said they would be.

The DNA findings by a lab hired by the defense were confirmed by the Philadelphia Police Department's own experts.

Judge Sandy L.V. Byrd is scheduled to instruct the jury Tuesday morning on the law governing the case, after which the panel will begin deliberations.

Earlier Monday, the retired homicide detective who transcribed Wright's 1991 statement to police faced sharp questioning from Silver, who asked how much the officer could truly remember of "this supposed confession."

"I remember I took this statement," Martin Devlin testified. "I remember a 77-year-old woman who was murdered. . . . I remember Louise Talley."

Silver at times went line by line through Wright's alleged confession, asking Devlin about mistakes in spelling - close for clothes, robb for rob - and the manner in which questions were asked.

"I take full credit" for the spelling errors," Devlin said. "As to the content of the statement, he should get full credit."

Wright, dressed in a dark suit jacket and white shirt, watched from the defense table.

He testified Friday that he had nothing to do with the crime and was coerced into signing documents he was not permitted to read, documents that homicide detectives later said were his confession.

Devlin testified that while he had supervised or conducted investigations into nearly 1,000 murders, he played only a small role in this case - being called to take down Wright's statement while another detective asked questions.

"Have you ever used threatening language while interrogating a suspect?" Silver asked him.

"No," Devlin replied.

"Never?"

Devlin said that the law allowed detectives to raise their voices and that he sometimes used expletives, but "Did I ever threaten somebody? No."

With the only physical evidence against Wright negated by DNA, prosecutors focused on Wright's alleged eight-page confession and on statements by five witnesses, four of whom testified in the original 1993 trial.

Devlin testified that he took down Wright's confession exactly as the suspect gave it, while lagging slightly behind in his transcription.

Silver suggested an experiment: He would read the statement, and Devlin would write it down verbatim, to show he didn't miss anything in 1991.

"Let's do it," Devlin said.

Silver read several lines, then stopped and asked Devlin what he'd written. It was six or seven words.

"That's all you have?" Silver asked.

"Yes."

"This experiment," Silver said, "is over."

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