The Murders of Jimmy and Anne Choy (Massachusetts)
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After a fire and a broke in massachusets neighborhood killed a man and a woman in their own home, the investigation zero in on two people, two children, who had escaped the blaze unharmed. I'm kindly low, and this is the case of new and choy and you, Jimmy choy on dark downs.

IT was four fifty six A M on thursday, April seventeen, two thousand and three, when a call came in to the blocked in fire department.

This is the right to fight. Family can help you. Where you calling from street? See our second point.

What a about you on what a company you and. My home, yes, what's burning? I don't know. I was in my room sleeping, and I thought I, I should do my to my door. You're one or two thousand three in broken OK if number two, yeah yes, there will be right there.

There are three voices on the line, the emergency dispatcher who connected the call to the fire department. They broke in fire department dispatcher and the color seventeen year old Francis choy, the emergency dispatcher stayed on the line with Francis and kept her talking as he waited for first responders to arrive with her head of the window of her bedroom.

Can you see the smoke? Other windows? Yeah, which one will damage some of them? I think of mine. Just juice. Oh, no.

Francis is, voice stays steady, but moments of shock and fear are evident as the dispatcher continues to ask questions.

Any of the neighbors outside, no, do you have neighbor's nearby? 走 啊， 老铁， this is my good dream. 可能 be。

thank. You 给 我看， they get there one to the tom, whether one of IT in the house, they can get them out to, okay, great house. My mom, my dad and my not that.

Yeah, well enough. You are they all on the second world? Yeah, yeah, they should be, unless my day went down here.

Firefighters had arrived at one or two blair street in, broke in. According to a massachusets state police incident report, there were no signs of smoke, fire from the street, but walking up the driveway along the side of the house, they could begin to see smoke coming from a second for window and a person sticking his head out, though he was not calling for help. In another second floor window, they spotted Francis choy.

拜拜。 After hanging up the nine .

one one call SHE holder down to the firefighters at her parents, fifty three year old and choy and sixty four year old Jimmy choy were inside the house. Two firefighters under the house and found IT filled with thick black smoke, but the smoke detectors weren't blaring their tel tale sound, making their way through the kitchen, up a half flight of stairs, into a living room and then onto a bedroom.

Fire personnel found and lying on the bed, and jim, my on the floor. Both were unconscious as they were removed from the house. Firefighters knocked down the blaze as all four residents, Francis and her parents, as well as the other person seen in a second floor window. Francis is mathew kennie choy, or transported to the hospital for treatment as the remnant smaller investigators noticed a distinctive older in the air IT was a strong, almost menthol scent described by one official as similar to fix the as the fire Marshal's office began the assessment of the cause and origin of the fire, they realized that the older was not from a topical medicine use for coughs and stuffy noses, but something else.

Tripper or gene steward of the massachusets state police fire Marshals office realized what IT was when he stepped inside Jimmy and an's bedroom gasoline IT seemed the fire had been intentionally set an accelerant detection canne alerted at several areas inside the house, including the melted remnants of a plastic container in ann jay's bedroom. Investigators found no sign of forced entry to the house and all windows and doors were secured when they first arrived at the scene. So what happened here at the hospital? A and roy was pronounced dead at five fifty three am.

SHE had suffered burns on sixty percent of her body. Jimmy was still hanging on but was in critical condition and transported to a second hospital for additional treatment. By six thirty five A M, the joy's home was secured as a crime seen Jimmy choy originally from hong kong g and his wife anne had lived in vietnam before immigrating to the united states.

They lived in boston's chinatown for a time before eventually moving to the blocked in neighborhood whether daughter Francis choy grew up, according to reporting by dave wedge for the boston herald, both Jimmy an and worked at a medical equipment manufacturer in brain tree for years, but ann left for personal reasons. And then in september of two thousand and two, Jimmy went on medical leave. F as he battled cancer.

Jimmy had been married before and and had at least one son from that married who lived in hongkong g. With his family, including a son canal. When Jimmy son passed away, Jimmy petitioned to have his grandsons kenis come live with him and his family in the united states.

He arrived march twenty seven, two thousand, and his grandfather was granted primary guardianship a little over a year later, Kenneth lived with his grandfather and step grandmother, along with his aunt Frances, who was almost to the same age as him. In April of two thousand, three, Francis joy was a scene near at blocked in high school. He was in on her student and a member of the students senate, and SHE played on the tennis team.

The superintendent of schools told meg tinch and add non vision of of the boston globe that Francis was a hard work, being dedicated and high achieving student, but also quiet and reserved. SHE was the kind of kid who did all the work in the group assignment, but then let someone else present the final project. However, her academics had begun to slip in the last few months of seeing a year.

Francis had already been accepted into four colleges, though, including suffix university, but getting into college was one thing, while the reality and logistics of attending was another. According to statements made by Francis contained in case file documents, SHE held a lot of responsibility at home. Her parent struggled with health problems, and so IT was Francis taking care of them in the house.

SHE cleaned, cooked and managed the bills for her mother and father, all on top of keeping up with school work and her job at an office supply door. Francis had hoped that getting into college would give her some independence from her parents. He thought he might even be able to move in with her boyfriend, who her father had forbidden her from seeing.

But that just wouldn't be the case because of their strict rules and all of her responsibility, ie. s. Francis had delivered home and continued caring for her parents even after starting at university. This left her frustrated and unhappy, and that would fuel growing suspicion as the investigation into the fire at the choy home unfolded.

Three massacres at state police officials first spoke with Kenneth choy as he lay in bed at the hospital on the morning of the fire, still in recovery. Kenneth told the investigators said he heard Francis get home from work around nine forty five pm, the night before. He stayed up playing video games in his room until around ten, and then he went to bed.

Shortly after, he said he was sleeping soundly until his grandmother screams woke up. SHE was shouting for Frances. Kenneth said he didn't know what time IT was, but IT was still dark outside, so he reached for the light switch, only defined that the electricity wasn't working.

When he opened his bedroom door, he was immediately overwhelmed by thick black smoke in the hallway. He slammed the door shut again and ran to one of the windows in his room. IT was stuck, but he eventually ranched IT open and gulped in the fresh air from outside.

Kenneth told police that he could hear Francis on the phone in her bedroom, and though he wasn't sure what he was saying, he assumed he was calling for help. Firefighters arrived and rescued him. Soon after, police asked Kenneth if he knew anything about the heating system of the house, or if any maintenance or construction work had been done recently at the residents, he said he believed the house was heated with natural gas, but there hadn't been any work done.

They also asked if anyone smoke at the house, if they ever had any issues with any of the neighbours, and if he heard the smoke detectors going off that morning. Kenneth answered no to all, no smoking, no issues and no smoke detectors. Finally, the officers asked Kenneth if he knew of any flame able materials that were kept inside the house.

Kenneth could think of a few. There were cans of paint stored in the basement near the heating system in a red gas cane used to Philip the long mower and snowblower, but he wasn't sure if the gas can had anything in IT. He didn't have much else to offer detectives.

He said. The investigation asked Kenneth if they could collect the clothing he was wearing at the time the fire started, saying that testing the items might help to determine the cause of the fire. Kenneth was eager to help and changed into hospital garment's as he handed over his clothes to police.

The same officials interviewed Francis choy at the hospital that morning, too. Francis told pretty much the same story as her. If you SHE said that he got home from work around nine forty five and went into check in with her parents before going to bed herself, her mom and dad were in their bedroom, and they chatted for about fifteen minutes, mostly about Francis's acceptance to saphie university.

Francis spoke up sometime early in the morning to the sound of her mothers screaming. SHE could just make out the words, Francis, there's a fire. There's a fire. Frances said he could hear a sizzling sound coming from outside the bedroom door and bright flame around the edge of her door frame in the dark.

Francis picked up the landline phone, but her mother was already on the line screaming unintelligibly IT wasn't clear if anyone was on the other end, so Francis found her cell phone and called nine one one. The first call dropped, but the dispatcher called back and connected Francis to the broken in fire department. That was the call audio you heard at the top of this episode.

Police asked Francis if he could think of anyone who might have a problem with her family, someone who might want to burn down their house. France is said that their cars had been vandalized in their driveway about two months earlier, and the investigation found that IT was because of issues kenner had with two other people at school, but IT had since been resolved and there weren't any other incidents. Six, that was all that came to mind.

Like Kenneth, france has also agreed to hand over her clothes for testing, wanting to do anything I could to help the ongoing investigation. Both teenager's articles were a packed separately and then presented to an accelerant detection dog who was trained in detecting the presence of flame able substances along with the clothing ian was wearing when he was found unconscious in her bed. After a good sniff, the dog alerted to the presence of a possible accelerant on two articles of clothing, one being and choice pajamas, the other was Francis choice sweatpants warn.

At the time the fire broke out, these were passed onto the state crime lab for further analysis to confirm the kinds findings. Frances in Kenneth were released from the hospital at ten I M. The same morning as the fire, Kenneth went with a family member to visit his grandfather Jimmy, who was still fighting for his life in critical condition at a different hospital.

But Francis returned home first. SHE was greeted by officials still in the process of assessing the scene, and they told her SHE wasn't allowed to go inside. So instead france is SAT with detectives in an unmarked cruise.

Er, for a second interview, the detectives asked Frances why he returned to the house, and he said he was worried about her belongings getting stolen. The detectives are shut her, that the house was secure, and even said that anything damaged by the fire would likely be covered by insurance, so SHE didn't need to worry about her things. At the mention of insurance, Francis told detectives that he was the sole beneficial area of her mother and father's life insurance policies totally and estimated one hundred thousand dollars.

He knew this because he was the one who paid the bill every month. The detective then went on to ask Francis about the smell of gasoline in her parents bedroom and on the sweat pants SHE was wearing. When the fire began, SHE had no explanation for why gasoline would be anywhere near her pants or her mother and father's bedroom.

SHE said. SHE hadn't handled gasoline recently, shouldn't fill up a long mower or snowblower. Those were Kenneth stores, and SHE hadn't warn them while getting gas in any of the family cars. When asked if SHE hugging her mother or had contact with her after the fire, Francis said no.

During this questioning, a family member arrived to pick up Francis in ringer to the hospital to visit her father, but the detectives gave her a ride instead so they could continue talking on the drive. They asked her how he was going to pay for her college education, and Frances told them nothing was finalized yet, but her father was going to pay for her tuition. SHE was going to live at home, even though he didn't want to.

Phrase is described all the responsibility SHE had at home and to her parents. According to the incident report, Francis described her parents as a quote, quote burden. After the detectives dropped Frances off at the hospital, they spoke with Kenneth, who was also at the hospital where Jimmy was being treated.

They asked him several questions before confronting him with this one. Would he or his unt Francis have done anything to hurt and and Jimmy Kenneth said no and then he told the detectives said he wanted to go see his grandfather, but they could call him any time. Jimmy choy passed away later that day, so coming to the burns on over eighty percent of his body and smoke inhalation from the blaze as doctors removed Jimmy's life support.

Francis HUD tim, according to marine boyles reporting for the enterprise, a family member tried to pull Frances away, explaining that hugging the dead causes that luck to rub off on. Francis didn't care. SHE asked her dad to wake up.

You can't leave me, SHE said back at one or two belair straight in, blocked in with a warrant in hand, state police began to fully search the joy's home around five thirty P. M. As detectives scoured Kenneth bedroom, they uncovered a piece of paper with a handwritten note. IT was personalized stationary. The top read a note from Kenneth choy, and below was what appeared to be a detailed plan to burn down the joy's home.

Among the items seized as evidence from the choice home after the fire were two hand written notes that appeared to be on Kenneth choice is personal stationary as reported by marine oil for the enterprise. The first note was an eleven point list. IT started with a time that I would all begin, quote, three thirty one own room ready gas gill bottle, put IT near T.

V. And quote, but this continues on with a step by step procedure, including putting gasoline into bottles in placing them in an apparent trail from the basement to the upstairs. The second list, which was twenty points long, included notes like, quote, fire up grandpas room and remember, fire this paper totally.

And quote, after the discovery of the notes, both Francis and Kenneth were brought in for formal questioning and read their mind rights. Both agreed to speak with police without attorney present. In one interview room, a detective confronted Kenneth with the notes found in his bedroom on his own stationary that appeared to be a plan to burn down his grandparents house.

He first denied that he wrote the note, but detectives told him the handwriting matched other things found in his bedroom. That's when Kenneth changed his story. He said he did write both letters investigators had found in his room, but IT wasn't what IT looked like.

He said there were copies of a chain letter someone gave him at school. He was told that he didn't make ten copies and hand the mount, then he'd have bad luck. He couldn't give the detective a name of who handed him the original letter and said only that the student was black and he'd never met him before.

The detective highly doubted this chain letter story was true, and he told kennith as much. Kenneth got quiet then and looked down at the floor as the detective continued to speak. The detective vast knife, if IT was his intent to kill his grandmother and grandfather, Kenneth finally responded that they didn't want to a kill anyone.

The metaphorical door was then opened, and the detective walked right through IT. He asked Kenneth to tell him everything about the circumstances of the fire. And Kenneth went on to lay out the entire plot, alleging that despite the notes in his handwriting, his ARM Francis was the mastermind behind the whole thing.

According to Kenneth, Francis was tired of living under her father's control and wanted to find a way to move out of the house, rent an apartment with her boyfriend and go to college free of her respons bi lit ie. s. To her parents, there were several ideas about how to make that happen, according to Kenneth, even a staged robbery. But about a week earlier, Francis had settled on a five.

he said.

in chinese version of events, Francis said that they should pour some gasoline in the basement from the gas hand. They kept their there for the long mower and continue a trail of the stairs and into a second floor hallway. Then they'd fill a few plastic milk containers with gasoline and place them in an in Jimmy's bedroom.

SHE also allegedly said theyd need to cover the outside of the bedroom doors and make sure the bathroom caught fire too, so I didn't read suspicion that the fire had been intentionally set. Kenneth claimed that Francis told him to write the whole playing down, so he was clear on the steps. He said he'd been taking notes as Frances was talking, but he did so in his own personal short hand, and Francis couldn't understand IT, so SHE wanted him to write IT again and give IT to her.

When he finally delivered his copy of the plan, he said Frances told him he missed some steps, and to do IT again, SHE approved of the final copy and told him to make sure the notes were burned in the fire so no one would find them. But he forgot a few nights before the fire, kenis told the detective that france has brought him down to the basement to fill up two milk containers into soda bottles with gasoline. They stashed them behind the garbage cans in the basement.

But he claimed that Francis didn't want to Carry out the plane in that same night because SHE heard her dad moving around in his room and didn't want to get caught. The time finally came, according to kanis, on the morning of April seventeenth, when he awoke to sounds in the basement, he said he found Frances down there holding the containers theyd hidden. A few days before SHE said IT was time Kenneth claimed that Francis went upstairs with gas cans and began dancing the living room walls and furniture, which was directly below her parents bedroom.

Then he went on to cover the stairs, he said. In the door to Jimmy ani's room, Kenneth said he placed two containers of gasoline on the basement stairs, but decided not to light IT. When he told Francis he failed to do that part of the plane, he told him to go to his room and SHE do with herself.

He ran upstairs and shutdown locked his bedroom door. He said he could hear his aunt run downstairs to the basement and seconds later the tell tale sound of a fire his ears followed the sound of her footsteps back upstairs and into her bedroom with a slim of the door. Kennith was adamant that they never planned to kill anybody.

Frances just wanted her freedom. And this was how he planned to get IT. When asked why he would go along with this plan to burn down the house and put himself in danger, Kenneth said that Francis promised him ten thousand dollars of whatever insurance payout SHE got.

That was enough in Kenneth's mind to move out and start a new life for himself, too. In the other interview room, the detective questioning Francis told her that Kenneth told them everything, but he admitted to participating in her plot to set the house on fire. Frances said he didn't have any idea what her nephew was talking about, and SHE didn't have anything to do with setting the fire.

Frances said that Kenneth had a grudge against her and hated her parents, and he was probably trying to pin the whole thing on her because he wanted their money. After that, detectives brought Kenneth into the room with her. SHE shouted at him, asking him why he was accusing her of being involved because he knew he didn't do anything.

Kenneth responded by calling his aunt equal. Great actress SHE continued to deny any involvement in the fire that killed her parents, and Kenneth continued to accuse her. Frances had been in the interrogation room for three hours after Kenneth submission.

The officials questioning her made IT clear that if he didn't give them different information than the repeated denials, she'd be arrested. For a brief moment, Francis changed her story. SHE said that around three or four A M in the morning of the fire, SHE went downstairs from her bedroom and filled plastic cups with gasoline from a gas can.

SHE lined the cups up on each step of the basement staircase and then returned to her bedroom. But almost as soon as he admitted to this role in the fire, SHE recanted what he said. Frances said he was lying, and SHE didn't do anything.

At that point, both Kenneth and Francis is hands were swapped for testing to detect the presence of accelerants, and then they were placed under arrest for murder. And the case was major headline news. What started as a story of bravery, of plotting Frances for calling nine one one and saving herself in her nephew from a fatal fire turned into dramatic stories of two teenagers accused of a cruel and vicious murder.

Kenneth inferences would be tried separately with Kenneth in juvenile court. They both entered not guilty, please, and were ordered held without bail. If found guilty, they faced life in prison. Francis trial began in january of two thousand eight.

Interestingly, Kenneth had been expected to testify against Francis during her trial, but after her lawyer and interviewed him in jail before the proceedings began, he backed out and he couldn't be forced to appear since he was charged in the case two. So nothing Kenneth had ever said about Frances's involvement in the fire could be used against her. The handwritten ten notes that listed out the steps to start the fire couldn't be used as evidence.

Cy there. By the time her trial began, Francis had been held at state prison for almost five years, and IT wouldn't be the end of her waiting behind bars for her verdict after fourteen and a half hours, the jury was dead logged, the judge declared in this trial, the prosecution intended to pursue the case again. But first Kenneth would face a jury for his part in the deaths of his grandparents.

Kenneth trial began a week after the first trial was declared for Francis. The notes were allowed as evidence in his case, but the bulk of Kenneth's defense was that I was his aunt Frances, not ham, who master minded the fire. A state police sergeant testified to the conversation he had with Kenneth about his aunt, promising to give him ten thousand dollars of the insurance money and how he told him to write down all the steps so he won't forget.

The trial lasted just a few days. Unlike the deadlock issues they had with Frances trial, this story was able to reach verdict. Kenneth choy was found not guilty of murder. He walked away from the courtroom, a free twenty one year old man having been jailed since he was sixteen years old.

As he was escorted outside, kennith was handed a sapa to appear at the second trial for his on Frances, this time clear of charges he would be compelled to testify against her, and in return he was granted immunity from any other charges like arson or conspiracy that might stem from what he told the jury in the year following his acquittal, Kenneth worked to get his life together. He moved in with family, friends and tried to get into the army, but was rejected. He got his driver's license and delivered pizza a while, but was out of work when his plan for a new life caught a snack.

Canada had been part of an ongoing investigation and under surveilLance when he was finally apprehended in August of two thousand nine and accused of dealing heroin. Police found a small amount of harrowin in a vehicle connected to Kenneth and nine more grams in his bedroom. He was held on a thousand dollars cash bail.

Kenneth's arrest wasn't the only incident in the toy family that year in late August. In early september of two thousand nine, two more fires broke out at the toy residence. A email exchange between two assistant district attorneys on september second, two thousand nine stated that the fire department responded to the choy home on blair street, which had had been boarded up for years since the fatal fire in two thousand.

Three fire officials found that someone had gained entry to the home by removing playwood from the windows or doors and had lit a couch on fire. This couch was not involved in the first fire in two thousand, three or another fire at the house, which had occurred only days earlier. The fire department and the crime scene services team wanted to know if they should reboard the house and preserve any evidence, but IT was tentatively decided that that wasn't necessary.

In the email thread about the fires, the A, D, A on Francis choice case wrote to another A, D, A via email, quote Kenny did make bail, didn't he, and quote, the discussion of Kenny making bail assumed to be Kenneth choy, suggest that the D, S. Office hypothesized that Kenneth had said the two fires the second A, D, A responded, quote, I think you should just N P. Frances this case right now and quote, meaning they should stop pursuing the case against Frances.

But that didn't happen. What's more, the prosecution didn't even inform Francis defense council of the fires at the house, fires that SHE obviously did not said because he was in prison awaiting trial, but could have been set by some other party who had motive to see that the house burned to the ground. Those fires that the choy residents would not be part of the case presented to a jury when Francis faced her second trial in january of twenty eleven, prosecutors presented much of the same evidence is the first trial except one big important difference. Kenneth choy was a star witness.

Stephane ssi reports for a boston college magazine that Kenneth took the stand to tell the jury how his aunt planned the whole fire with his cloak of immunity. He admitted that he wrote the notes with a list of steps for starting the fire and that he placed soda bottles filled with gasoline on the basement stairs. But that's where his involvement stopped.

He claimed he repeated the story, head told over and over. He went to his room and he heard a wash sound. His clue that is on t had ignited the fire, Vicky n. Downing reports for the enterprise, but the defense presented witnesses who testified about false confessions. The intent was to drummed up some doubt surrounding Francis admission and then quick retraction of that admission after hours of interrogation on the night he was arrested.

When the jury began their deliberations, everyone wondered if this time the outcome would be different if Francis would be convicted of killing her parents, if they would continue a life in prison for the crimes SHE was accused of committing. But that's not what came to pass once again, after four and a half days of deliberation, the jury test with deciding Francis choice fate was deadlocked. IT was declared a this trial for the second time back to state prison.

Francis went where sh'd bend in custody for nearly eight years. Already held without bail, Francis attorney planned to appeal for his client to be released on bail pending a third trial area. Potter reports for the enterprise that the appeal was granted, and Francis was released on twenty thousand dollars cash bail, which he posted.

With the help of her family members pulling the funds together, heron and uncle picked her up from the courthouse, and she'd be staying with them until the trial. During those eight years in prison, Frances had turned the bachelor of science degree from the boston university metropolitan college program and was even the class valedictorian all from the confines of state prison. Her family continued to support her, appearing at hearings and giving her a place to stay while he was out on bail.

Though IT was the first glimpse of freedom and nearly A E Frances wasn't truly free, the promise of a third trial linger, and he took her seat at the defendants table in may of twenty eleven. This time around, the state didn't have their star witness, Kenneth choy. According to court records, he had returned to long kang, but his testimony would still be introduced to the jury by way of role play with the transcript from his earlier testimony about the plane he claimed his aunt concocted, the state told the jury how Kenneth version of events was CoOperated, by testimony about Francis apparently mission of guilt on the night he was arrested, and by further testimony from first responders who described, Frances says, calm and emotionless following the fire.

In closing arguments, the state repeatedly reminded the jury that a state police chemist had identified the presence of the gasoline on Francis pants, but that Kenneth's clothing did not test positive for gasoline again. The jury deliberated for days on end wing the evidence against Francis when they finally returned with a verdict on may sixteen and two thousand and eleven. The news was a shock to all who heard IT.

This jury, unlike the two who came, was able to reach a unanimous ous decision, and they found Francis choy guilty on all counts. SHE was labeled a calculating killer in a headline by the enterprise newspaper, but family, friends and those who knew the bright, diligent student expressed their doubt that he was really the killer, that the prosecution and jury decided he was IT would take almost a decade, but the doubt shared by Frances's supporters would ultimately be proven true. Francis wasn't a killer, but a victim herself.

Francis choi was appointed attorney john barter for the appeal process, who began a post conviction investigation into Francis case. After years of work, john was certain that his client was innocent. He reached out to attorneys from the boston college innocence project who took up princess is his case in twenty seventeen, and the team went to work analyzing the case file and evidence what they found blew them away.

For five years, attorney john barter had fought for the plumet county prosecutors office to release emails between the assistant destruct attorneys who prosecuted Frances. When he finally obtained those emails, he found them riddled with racist and sexually explicit reMarks about Francis and her family. The january twenty twenty motion states quote, these emails included jokes about asian people, photographs depicting asian people in a demeaning way, and commentary specifically about Frances alleging that he was engaged in an incestuous relationship with her nephew and mocking her.

And quote, the emails themselves could have been grounds for a new trial. But the team kept working the sweat pants Francis was wearing on the morning he was rescued from the fire. A major piece of evidence that the state argued pointed to her guilt due to the gasoline revenue on them identified by a state police chemist.

Those were analyzed again, this time by an analytical chemist sought out by her post conviction counsel. This chemist found that went measured by generally accepted standards. The results did not support a conclusion that there was gasoline residue on Francis sweatpants.

SHE further stated in her afford, David, that had SHE been retained prior to trial, SHE could have testified to this fact as a defense witness. However, the defense was unable to obtain her or another expert like her at the time, as they were limited to experts within massachusetts as well as funding issues. So this potentially exculpatory evidence was never heard by the jury.

What's more, the prosecution had said to the jury during closing statements that Kenneth's clothing did not test positive for gasoline, which may have been technically true, but one major omission was revealed by the post conviction investigation. Kenneth's clothing wasn't tested at all. Court documents state that eleven items were tested by the state police laboratory and not a single one of those eleven items was clothing.

Warn on the morning of the fire, the B. C. Innocence project team also discovered a witness, a friend of Kenneth, who stated that Kenneth admitted to her that he started the fire direct contradiction to his swann testimony that he had nothing to do with that.

According to the witness, kenis also bragged about being found not guilty because he is the one who bought the gas, started the fire and had gas on his clothes. The motive, the witness stated, was that kenniston his mother in hong kong, or made Jimmy and and because they kept asking for money, and so he wanted to kill them in revenge. Court records state that Frances's trial attorney was aware of this witness, but never called the witness to testify.

IT was an argument for ineffectiveness of council. Her attorney had a duty to conduct an independent investigation of the facts, but by not calling the witness who could speak to Kenneth alleged admissions, a major piece of her defence was neglected. The investigation by Francis post conviction council also uncovered those emails about the two other fire set at the choy home while Frances was incarcerated.

Withholding this information from the defense was a huge issue as IT was potentially exculpatory evidence. The post conviction investigation also discovered an incident in january two thousand and three, a few months before the fire when Kenneth was reported missing to brock in police, documents show that Jimmy told police Kenneth left home because of an argument about kennett selling drugs. This detail was either withheld or overlooked during the original discovery period for Frances is trial, and so another potential motive for Kenneth to kill his grandparents was never presented a trial.

There were several other major issues raised in Francis choice appeal for post conviction relief, an assistant district tourney who told the detective what to say in his testimony, even though IT was false information, police lying about having the necessary equipment to record interviews and interrogations, evidence that investigators claimed was destroyed but was in fact still contained in the case file. IT was overwhelmingly clear to her post conviction appeal attorneys that Francis choice case and the state's conduct during the investigation and trial were fraught with error and issues, so they laid all out in a motion for post conviction relief in january of twenty twenty. In April of that year, Francis choy was released to home confinement as SHE awaited a ruling on the motion.

On september twenty eighth twenty twenty, judged in the goals issued, a ruling judge gals found that Francis had presented an extensive record of newly discovered scoped ory evidence as well as prosecutorial and policemen conduct, showing that justice may not have been done. With that, the two murder convictions and one conviction for arson were vacated, and there would not be a fourth trial. Francis choy was exonerated at the time of her exaggeration.

Francis had spent as many years in prison as he had outside of IT for a crime he did not comment. The assistant district attorney who prosecuted Frances choy, Carol Sullivan and john were actually fired from the climate county district tennis office in twenty twelve prior to Frances's exoneration. In june of twenty and twenty three, the office of bark council filed a petition for discipline against Sullivan and readily alleging misconduct in Francis case, specifically calling out the racist mails and other issues.

In the case, the board would review and determine if sanctions were warranted. Bradley's legal license was still active at the time, and do sul van was a prosecutor in the bristol carney D. S. office.

Disciplinary hearings were held in April of this year twenty twenty four, but any penalties have yet to be decided at the time of this episode is original recording Francis choice saturday wrongful incorrect ation case with the city of broken in and was awarded three point seven five million dollars earlier this year. SHE reportedly lives with family and has a job and is working on rebuilding her life, SHE told the boston college law magazine quote, I want to thank my attorneys. My family and my friends were always believing in my innocence.

IT has been a tough in long journey, but their support helped me stay strong and never give up hope. Nothing can not reach the pain of losing my parents and how they suffered. I miss them every day, even in prison.

I tried to live my life in a way that honored them. I'm relieved that the truth has been revealed and to have my life back beyond prison walls. And quote, as for Kenneth choy, he cannot be retried for any crimes releasing to the deaths of his grandparents. Since he left a hung hung just days before he was had to testify in france's third trial, there has spent no sign of his return to the united states. IT seems he has vanished, awaiting justice for his suspected role in the fire that claimed the lives of ann and Jimmy choy.

Thank you for listening to dark downest. You can find all source material for this case at dark down's stock com. Be sure to follow the show on instagram at dark downing.

This platform is for the families and friends who have lost their loved ones and for those who are still searching for answers. I'm not about to let those names or their stories get lost with time. I'm kindly low.

And this is start jist. Dark donis is a production of Kelly media and audio check. So what do you think .

check we will prove?