Peter Frumusa
Ontario, Canada
Date of Crime: August 22, 1988
Peter Frumusa was convicted of murdering Richard and Annie
Wilson, a married couple. The victims were found dead in their beds
and died as a result of blows to their heads. No murder weapon was
found. There was no evidence of forced entry to their house, or of
robbery or vandalism. Since Richard's wallet and money were found
close to his body, robbery appeared not to be a motive and the killings were
thought to be executions.
Frumusa lived with the deceased woman's daughter, Brenda
Smith. Although the violence of the deadly beatings caused blood to
spatter widely, none was found on Frumusa. No forensic evidence linked
him to the crime. Frumusa was first arrested for the murders due to a
blood-stained shirt found in his car. The police subsequently learned
that the blood was from Frumusa's daughter.
Frumusa was convicted of the crime due largely to testimony of
an informant, Frank Costello. Costello was an acquaintance of Frumusa,
but not a friend. Costello claimed Frumusa had telephoned him from
jail and had admitted to him that he committed the murders. Costello
testified that after being charged with unrelated criminal offenses, he told
police of the admission, but only after police had agreed that he would
receive bail and the charges against him would be dropped.
Following Frumusa's conviction, two witnesses came forward and
gave evidence that Costello's testimony was false. Garnet Cecil
Cameron gave a statement that implicated Costello and other individuals as
the murderers. Sherry Lynn Thorne testified that Costello had told her
that Frumusa had not admitted the murders to him, but that Costello had
reported the false admission to the police in order to get bail and have
certain charges against him dropped. There was also additional
evidence provided by a third witness, Dave Fretz. Fretz, who had
apparently lived with Costello, denied statements made by Costello regarding
his phone call from Frumusa. He also denied statements made by
Costello to officers who investigated Cameron's statement.
Frumusa also presented evidence that following his conviction,
Costello had been a Crown witness in two other cases. In R. v. John
Patrick Walker, Costello had testified to a conversation with the accused
which was calculated to convict him of first-degree murder. During
trial, Costello's credibility was successfully attacked by the defence,
resulting in Crown counsel telling the jury that Costello was a liar and
that the jury should not convict on Costello's evidence. In the other
case, R. v. George Buric, Costello had testified that he participated in a
scheme to fabricate evidence at the request of the accused to procure his
acquittal. In each case, Costello provided testimony for the Crown
when he was in jeopardy, after receiving an assurance of favourable
treatment, or in hope of favourable treatment.
The Ontario Court of Appeals overturned Frumusa's conviction in 1996 and
charges against him were dropped in June 1998. Frumusa settled a suit for
compensation in 2004, but the terms were not publicly disclosed.
[12/08]
________________________________
References:
Regina
v. Frumusa, Frumusa et al. v.
Regina et al.
Posted in:
Victims of the State,
Canadian Cases, Career
Informant Cases
|