A Connecticut judge on Monday declared a mistrial in the case of a Maine man charged with killing an 11-year-old girl in Norwalk nearly 40 years ago after it was revealed her body may have been placed in a used body bag.
Marc Karun, 60, was also charged with murder with special circumstances and first-degree kidnapping in the 1986 killing of Kathleen Marie Flynn. Kathleen, who went by Kathy, went missing after leaving school on Sept. 23, 1986. Her body was found the following day in a wooded area off a trail near Ponus Ridge Middle School.
On the fifth day of the trial on Monday, Stamford Superior Court Judge John Blawie granted a mistrial. Prosecutors brought up the issue of the body bag on Thursday before the proceedings resumed Monday after the Good Friday holiday.
Here’s what happened, and what it could mean for a future prosecution in the case:
What does a mistrial mean?
After a mistrial, prosecutors still have the option to present the case again.
The decision means a judge has voided the trial before a decision was reached by the jury, the American Bar Association notes. That can happen for a number of reasons, including a jury becoming deadlocked and unable to return a verdict.
That can happen even if a jury returns a verdict on some charges, but not others. In an unrelated case last year, a jury found a former high school student not guilty of murder in a fatal stabbing at a house party, but became deadlocked on lesser charges. Prosecutors have since brought a new case against the former student, Raul Valle, on those lesser charges.
Blawie said he would not grant a motion dismissing the case.
“I don’t want to do this, but on the other hand, I feel I don’t have a choice,” the judge said.
Blawie noted that he was concerned about the fairness of the trial, as DNA evidence is at the heart of the trial, and that the lack of a record of the claim until Thursday was troubling.
Following the decision, State’s Attorney Paul Ferencek said prosecutors will now work with the state lab to assess the “validity of the allegation.”
“We’re obviously disappointed by this turn of events, especially for the family members of Kathy Flynn, who have waited forty years for justice and some degree of closure. When the State learned of Mr. Fabrizzio’s allegation last Thursday, we immediately notified the Court and defense counsel, fulfilling our legal and ethical obligations even though it contributed to the mistrial,” Ferencek said in a statement Monday. “We remain committed to a fair process and to upholding the integrity of the justice system as we review the case and determine next steps.”
Former cop was emailed prosecution
On Thursday, the prosecution revealed they had received an email that morning that had been forwarded from the Chief State’s Attorney’s Office. The email’s author identified himself as a retired Norwalk cop who had headed the detective bureau at the time of the murder.
The author, identified as retired Norwalk police Lt. Robert Fabrizzio, reported he had been following the case’s coverage in The Hour.
“I know how important the collection of evidence is,” Ferencek read, quoting the email. “There is something that I recall and I do not know if you are aware of it or if it makes any difference in the case. A short time after the case I received a phone call from Dr. Lee at the state crime lab advising me that Kathleen’s body had been placed in a used body bag by the state medical examiner. He was concerned about contamination of evidence. He asked me why I allowed them to use a used bodybag. I told him I was not on the scene when she was removed.”
The email was brought up in court before the jury was brought in.
On Monday, Karun’s attorney, Francis O’Reilly, said the defense was in an “irreparable position,” after the email’s disclosure.
Ferencek noted Thursday that nothing in the medical examiner’s report or police files mentioned the reused body bag.
Attorney Francis O’Reilly, who represents Karun, said the defense was in an “irreparable position” in the wake of the allegations.
Ferencek said the retired lieutenant claimed to have received the information from Dr. Henry Lee, and said it was very unlikely Lee was at the scene.
Case is the latest to involve Henry Lee
Monday’s mistrial is the latest court drama to allegedly involve the famed forensic scientist Henry Lee.
Lee, who headed the Connecticut State Police forensic lab for more than two decades, was part of a team behind the conviction of Richard Crafts, who was accused of killing his wife Helle Crafts and feeding her body through a woodchipper. He was convicted despite the lack of a body.
Lee went on to serve as a key defense witness in the OJ Simpson trial, and as a consultant in other high-profile killings, including the trial of Scott Peterson in 2004 and killing of JonBenet Ramsey in 1996.
In 2023, Lee was found to have lied on the stand in the case of two men, Ralph Birch and Shawn Henning. Both were convicted of the 1985 murder of Everett Carr in New Milford. They were exonerated in 2020, after having served decades behind bars.
Lee died last month at the age of 87.
During court on Monday, Ferencek called the information “unreliable.” O’Reilly said his team would also not be able to question Lee.
Story by Peter Yankowski The Hour, Norwalk, Conn. Contains previous reporting by staff writers Liz Hardaway and Ethan Fry. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
