Prosecutor Stephen M. Carney read six pages of potential witness names last month when introducing the murder case of LaShawn R. Cecil to prospective jurors, but when the 12-member jury begins deliberations in the coming weeks, the testimony of a single witness with a shaky history could weigh more heavily than others.
William Colello, a key witness, continues to pose problems for the prosecution. Colello helped police, whose investigation of the murder had stalled, build a case against Cecil when he provided them three sworn statements in November 2014 and January 2015. Colello said he drove Cecil and drug dealer Harold K. "Haas" Butler to Wirth's apartment to collect a drug debt owed to Butler by the brother of Wirth's boyfriend. He said Cecil got out of the car, then returned five or 10 minutes later and said, "Let's get out of here."
Colello balked as the state prepared to call him to the witness stand in August 2015 during a preliminary court proceeding known as a probable cause hearing. He checked himself into a psychiatric ward at The William W. Backus Hospital, delaying the hearing for several days. Once he was released from the hospital and called to testify, he recanted the statements he had given to police, saying he told police what they wanted to hear after hours of interrogation.
Judge Hillary B. Strackbein relied on the sworn statements rather than his testimony when deciding the state had enough evidence to try Cecil for murder. But she noted in her decision that the state would face a higher burden of proof when the case went before a jury.
The prosecution is expected to once again call Colello, who is under subpoena, to testify at the trial.
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