Richard Tuite

Richard Tuite

Richard Raymond Tuite is an American convicted of stabbing to death 12-year-old Stephanie Crowe in her bedroom in Escondido, California, on January 20, 1998. Tuite was found guilty on May 26, 2004. His conviction was overturned on September 8, 2011.

Initially, Stephanie's brother, Michael Crowe, was the main suspect for the murder. He was singled out by Escondido police when he seemed "distant and preoccupied" after Stephanie's body was discovered and the rest of the family grieved. After an intense midnight-to-dawn interrogation he gave a false confession. Charges were subsequently dropped and Richard Tuite was charged with the murder six years later. Tuite was initially dismissed as a suspect because he was thought to be incapable of murder. However charges against Michael Crowe were dropped after DNA testing linked neighborhood transient Tuite to Stephanie when three drops of blood were found on his shirt. During jury selection, he tried to flee the courthouse, but was caught hours later.

The prosecution surmised that Tuite, a diagnosed schizophrenic, was obsessed with Crowe due to her resemblance to a girl he was obsessed with years earlier who spurned him due to his schizophrenic behavior. He allegedly stalked her and then committed a "blitz attack" on Crowe, in which he allegedly stabbed her nine times in her room and departed.

Tuite, was acquitted on the murder charge, but was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter and given a sentence of thirteen years. He subsequently had four more years added on to the sentence due to his flight attempt.

On September 8, 2011, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit overturned the manslaughter conviction of Richard Tuite, stating in its opinion, "Given the lack of evidence tying Tuite to the crime, the problems with the DNA evidence, the jury's deadlock and compromise verdict, and the weight and strategic position of McCrary's testimony, this case is one of those 'unusual' circumstances in which we find ourselves 'in virtual equipose as to the harmlessness of the error.' O'Neil v. McAninch, 513 U.S. 432, 435 (1995). We must treat the error as affecting the verdict, and we are compelled to grant the writ." Tuite v. Martel, No. 09-56267. It is to be noted that during the trial the prosecution could not produce any trace evidence of the house on the defendant's clothing or person nor was any trace evidence of the defendant's person or clothing found in the house, facts that the Court of Appeals cited which led to the Court's determination of lack of evidence. The prosecution's timeline for the crime also required the defendant to have remained undetected in the house for approximately one hour before committing the assault on the victim. Given that the home was fully occupied and that a pet dog was present, the plausibility of the prosecution's scenario was highly suspect.

It was announced on, October 24, 2012, Tuite would be granted a retrial. Tuite's conviction was reversed by a federal appeals court, citing the judicial error during cross examination.