A New York woman who had been in prison for 13 years was released Tuesday after new evidence contradicted accounts that she helped a hitman carry out a murder 25 years ago in the Bronx.
Kimberly Hanzlik, 59, was convicted in 2011 alongside gunman Joseph Meldish over allegations that she tipped off Meldish that his target, Thomas Brown, was sitting in Frenchy’s Tavern on East Tremont Avenue in the Throggs Neck section of the Bronx on March 21, 1999. Meldish then went into the establishment and shot Joseph Brown, who looked like his brother, Thomas Brown.
Hanzlik was sentenced to 20 years to life in state prison, while Meldish was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. But new evidence revealed by the Bronx District Attorney’s Office cast doubt on whether the victim’s wife could identify Hanzlik as having been at the scene of the crime.
In a hearing at the Bronx Hall of Justice on Tuesday, Administrative Judge Alvin Yearwood granted the motion by Hanzlik’s attorney to vacate the conviction, dismiss the indictment and seal the case against Hanzlik, ordering her release from state prison.
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“Ms. Hanzlik served 13 years in prison based on trial testimony that would not meet today’s threshold of credibility given the discovery of new information, which casts doubt on the integrity of her conviction, and we cannot stand by it,” Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark, who joined the request to vacate the conviction and dismiss the charges, said in a statement. “I realize this causes pain and anguish for the victim’s family, but in the interest of justice, we are dismissing the indictment against Ms. Hanzlik.”
It was alleged that Meldish was upset that Thomas Brown, a former drug dealer, refused to lend him money for a deal and reported Meldish to police when he burglarized his home in retribution.
Hanzlik, a crack-addicted prostitute at the time, allegedly went with Meldish and another man to the bar where Thomas Brown was known to frequent, popped in and believed she saw him sitting with his wife and told Meldish he was inside.
Meldish then went inside and shot the man eight times, which killed him, but the victim turned out to be Joseph Brown.
And Meldish’s getaway driver testified that Hanzlik helped them carry out the crime.
Joseph Brown’s wife testified that she saw Hanzlik in the bar before the shooting. But after investigating the case again at the request of Hanzlik’s lawyers in 2021, it was revealed that she identified Hanzlik for the first time in 2006, seven years after the murder.
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The identification was also secured by a New York City Police detective, who is now dead, but who was recently discovered to have coerced a false identification in an unrelated case.
Additionally, a previously undisclosed police document from 1999 shows information from the getaway driver stating that Hanzlik was actually not present at the time of the incident.
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