NY - Jean Balashek, 86, found strangled, New Scotland, 13 March 2005

mysteriew

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In what may be a first-of-its-kind case, it was revealed yesterday that a New York woman charged with murdering her 86-year-old mother had killed before — as a man.
Prior to a sex-change operation, Corriana Thompson, 45, who was arrested on murder charges Sunday, was Corey Wayne Balashek, who served time in prison for the 1981 strangulation of a female nurse.

Thompson, of Albany, took her mother's maiden name after she had the gender-bending operation sometime after getting out of prison in the 1990s.

"Sounds like a great movie," said Brian MacNamara, an assistant professor of law at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

The bizarre case could be a first.

A longtime FBI spokesman, state criminal-justice officials, academicians, and gay- and transgender-rights activists could not recall a similar situation in which a person was twice charged with murder — once as a man and once as a woman.

http://nypost.com/2005/04/12/he-sla...l-strangler-killed-as-a-woman-man-police-say/
 
Days after 86-year-old Jean Balashek was found strangled in her New Scotland home last March, sheriff's investigators began hauling in friends and associates of Balashek's daughter, Corianna, who was their suspect in the murder.
The cops were searching for a break, hoping one of the friends, many of whom were admitted drug addicts, might have some information that could help them make an arrest.

To nudge their cooperation, the investigators left a copy of a reward poster on the table as potential witnesses were peppered with questions about Corianna Thompson's habits and movements around the time of the killing. The flier offered $150,000 for information leading to an arrest in the case, but also had a small disclaimer at the : "This is not real, you stupid crackhead."

It didn't matter.

According to sources close to the investigation, the promise of a large reward apparently stirred interest from within the seedy circle of friends kept by Thompson, including her boyfriend, Kevin B. Glover, 46, of Cohoes.

Four weeks after the murder, just before dawn on a Sunday morning, Glover called investigators and told them that Thompson had confessed to killing her mom two days after the slaying.

"I did it. I killed Mommy," Thompson had said, according to Glover.

That Sunday morning, Thompson had called 911 and told a dispatcher she'd found her mother dead on the floor after driving from Cohoes to check on her. Sources closes to the case said a bag was found next to the body, and initially it appeared to have been a suicide.

But sheriff's investigators said their suspicions were aroused when marks began appearing on Balashek's neck as they combed the scene trying to piece together what had happened.

A day later, an autopsy confirmed their theory of foul play when it was determined that a small bone in the throat of Balashek had been crushed, which is a telltale sign someone has been choked to death.
Investigators immediately shifted their focus to her younger daughter, who underwent a sex change operation several years ago. Police believe Thompson killed her for money after the elder woman threatened to cut her off financially because of her drug problem.
http://timesunion.com/AspStories/st...tegory=REGION&BCCode=HOME&newsdate=11/26/2005
 
Well, at least this is a solvable crime and this perp isn't on the lookout for other victims.
 
The question is, can they make it stand up in court? Their main witness thought that he was going to recieve a reward for turning her in. That leaves the defense an opening to say his info isn't credible, because he thought that he would gain, financially from it. Then there is the fact that LE tricked him into the statement, who is to say what he will actually say in his testimony, now that he knows he was tricked into the statement?
 

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