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www.courant.com/news/local/statewire/hc-ap-ct-lapointeappealmay07,0,4524759.story

Courant.com
Lapointe attorneys seek new trial in killing
Associated Press

May 7, 2010

ROCKVILLE, Conn.

A Connecticut judge is hearing testimony over whether a Manchester man deserves a new trial on charges of raping and killing his wife's grandmother.

Richard Lapointe, whose case was featured on "60 Minutes," is serving life in prison in the 1989 homicide of 88-year-old Bernice Martin.

Lapointe's attorneys say critical evidence was overlooked, including DNA found at the scene from someone else.

Lapointe signed three confessions, but his supporters say he has a mental impairment called Dandy Walker Syndrome that made him susceptible to psychological pressure from investigators.

The hearing started Monday in Rockville Superior Court. It continued Friday, but no decision was immediately expected.

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Information from: The Hartford Courant, http://www.courant.com

AP-ES-05-07-10 1126EDT

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