Jury starts deliberations in Brighton ax murder case
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ROCHESTER, N.Y. — We’re staying on top of the jury deliberations in the Brighton ax murder.
A man named James Krauseneck is accused of killing his wife Cathy in their home 40 years ago. The one name the jury kept hearing during the trial was Ed Laraby, a convicted rapist who confessed to the crime before he died.
So why wasn’t he on trial over the last four decades?
See our complete coverage of the Brighton Ax murder trial
- Day 1: 40 years ago Krauseneck looked “horrified”
- Day 3: James Krauseneck left town 24 hours after his wife was murdered in her bed
- Day 4: Sister of the victim initially didn’t think James Krauseneck did it. That’s changed
- Day 4: Cop who discovered the crime scene says “it’s haunted me for a long time”
- Day 6: The anonymous letter and the star witness
- Day 7: Famed Medical Examiner Dr. Michael Baden testifies for prosecution
- Day 8: Prosecution rests in Brighton Ax Murder Trial
- Day 9: Defense opens its case in Brighton Ax Murder Trial
- Day 11: Jury in 40-year-old Brighton Ax Murder starts deliberating Friday
- Deliberations Day 1: Jury starts deliberations in Brighton ax murder case
Here is our page with live updates on the trail
We’re staying on top of the jury deliberations in the Brighton ax murder.
The defense lawyers for James Krauseneck told the jury Ed Laraby, one of the most notoriously violent people in our community, lived less than a mile from the Krauseneck home in Brighton.
Police got a tip about him the day after the murder in 1982 but the defense says they brushed it off.
8 years ago, Laraby confessed to the crime as he was dying from ALS.
The prosecutor said he confessed to all kinds of crimes to earn favor with his prison. He reminded the jury that Cathy Krauseneck was killed with an ax while she slept in her bed.
Then he read parts of Laraby’s confession.
Pat Gallagher, prosecutor: “He claims he knocked on the door, she answered, they talked for a few, and last minute decision he decided to rape her and then kill her with an ax. I think Mr. Easton’s term was not all the details are not consistent with all the facts. It’s not consistent with any of the facts.”
Bill Easton, Krauseneck defense attorney: “I mean this is a guy who lives in the neighborhood. He’s been identified by a tip, a reliable tip that’s been corroborated in details. What do they do? Do they go out and investigate Laraby? Do they see if he actually was working? Could they solve this? Could they get leads to figure out whether Laraby did it? We don’t know because nothing happened.”
The jury learned there were no strange DNA or fingerprints in the Krauseneck home and they heard one investigator say they never got a viable tip or suspect.