Black Sunday Firefighter Deaths
NY Daily News 7/18/09
A guilty verdict in the Black
Sunday fire case is in jeopardy because a female juror sent
gushy Facebook messages to one of the firefighters.
A Bronx judge ordered teacher Karen Krell to turn over her
computer records as defense lawyers laid the groundwork for
getting the conviction tossed.
The judge also unsealed messages between Krell and Firefighter
Brendan Cawley - who survived the 2005 blaze that killed two
fellow Bravest.
"I'm awed at what you and the others went through, and what you
yourself still continue to go through," Krell wrote in one
flattering note sent through the social networking site.
Landlord Cesar Rios was convicted of criminally negligent
homicide for the inferno that trapped firefighters in an illegal
warren of subdivided apartments.
His lawyer said the messages Krell sent casts doubt on her
impartiality.
"It seems she already made up her mind before they sat down to
deliberate," lawyer David Goldstein said outside the courtroom.
Krell - who will have to testify at a July 30 hearing - made her
first overture to Cawley on Feb. 9 while the trial was still
under way.
She asked the handsome Bravest to be her Facebook "friend" in
apparent violation of the judge's ban on contact with witnesses
or lawyers until after a verdict.
Cawley ignored the Facebook request, but Krell persisted,
contacting him again on Feb.19 - the day after she helped
convict Rios.
"I just wanted you to know that we all fought our hardest for
all of you and every second of it was worth it," she said.
Cawley responded graciously.
"We ... were glad to learn that you and other jurors found
responsibilities for [Lt. Curtis Meyran and Firefighter John
Bellew's] loss," he wrote.
dblock@nydailynews.com
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