NY NY - Heidi Allen, 18, New Haven, 3 April 1994

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Gary Thibodeau's lawyer: Fight 'not over' if he can hang on; DA: That's expected

Gary Thibodeau's lawyer: Fight 'not over' if he can hang on; DA: That's expected

Syracuse, NY -- With Gary Thibodeau in hospice care, his public defender vowed today to continue fighting his 1995 Heidi Allen conviction "as long as (Thibodeau) can hold on."

Public Defender Lisa Peebles remained undeterred after a 4-3 ruling from the state's highest court that struck down Thibodeau's appeal for a retrial based on newly discovered evidence.

Allen, 18, disappeared from an Oswego County convenience store on Easter 1994; newly discovered evidence had implicated others in her kidnapping, but courts have now ruled that evidence could not be used at trial.

"We're going to keep fighting, there's no question about it," Peebles told Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard. "It was a divided court. We obviously agree with the well-reasoned decision of the dissent.

"The fight is not over."
 
Gary Thibodeau's family wants the chance for freedom that Neulander got

OSWEGO, N.Y. — Gary Thibodeau's family is angry about the news that the former Dr. Robert Neulander will likely be released from jail as he awaits a new trial.
Thibodeau's family said he is innocent and what's happening to him isn't fair. They don't like that Neulander has a chance at freedom and Thibodeau does not.

“If this guy Neulander killed his wife, which I can’t understand why they would give him a new trial if he is guilty of killing his wife," said Gary's brother, Richard Thibodeau.
 
Heidi Allen case fact check; Errors made by Oswego District Attorney

District Attorney Gregory Oakes gets caught in his lies, once again. He told CnyCentral the other day, that there was very little evidence of anything in Richard Thibodeau's van. And that somebody must have cleaned the vehicle to make sure no evidence was left.

FBI Special Agent Christopher Allen also testified as a forensic expert for the bureau. He testified to the vacuum scraping from the van containing hair. Allen said he did not find any matching Heidi Allen's.

The FBI Forensic Team also were given samples of carpet from the van for their own examination. Trial testimony showed that more hairs were found, some from animals, but the human hairs did not match Heidi Allen's.
 
'Miscarriage of justice': Thibodeau trial juror speaks out for the first time

Elizabeth Head had a front row seat for that unforgettable moment in the Gary Thibodeau trial.

23 years later, the jury shattered Thibodeau's courtroom confidence. Head wants a do-over. When asked if she thinks Thibodeau is guilty she said: No, I don't think he is.

She admitted being filled with doubt. She kept waiting for the prosecution to present evidence. She was one of 12 jurors that questioned whether Thibodeau was involved in Heidi Allen's abduction.

Head said they thought Thibodeau was involved in something illegal, like drugs, but not necessarily a murder or kidnapping.

"All of us felt the same way, base it on who do you believe," Head said.
 
Defense attorney confirms Gary Thibodeau has died

NewsChannel 9 confirms that Gary Thibodeau died Sunday. He was 63 years old.

Thibodeau was serving a 25-year-to-life sentence in state prison for kidnapping Heidi Allen in 1994. His defense attorney, Lisa Peebles, says his health had been declining recently.

"He really suffered throughout these past few weeks. It was hard to watch," said Peebles. "His case is now officially over, there is nothing more we can do for him."

Last month, his defense filed another appeal on his behalf. Back in June, the Court of Appeals struck down Thibodeau's chances for a new trial in a four to three decision.

Peebles says she's been in touch with his family about funeral arrangements.
 
Guilty until proven innocent — the lesson of Gary Thibodeau's case: Matt's Memo

His legal case dies with Gary. There will be no moment of justice in court. No revelation from a fresh jury seeing the facts dispassionately. For over 24 years, Gary Thibodeau could not overcome our nature of seeing guilty over innocent. And honestly, the truth of what happened that morning evaporated as soon the late spring wet snow melted on Easter Sunday.
 
Heidi Allen's sister: What if Gary Thibodeau took her whereabouts to the grave?

Aug 13, 2018

"New Haven, NY -- Lisa Buske didn't celebrate the death Sunday of her sister's convicted kidnapper.

Heidi Allen's older sister said Gary Thibodeau's death in prison may have left the ultimate question unanswered forever.

Where is Heidi?

Heidi Allen was 18 years old when she disappeared from a New Haven convenience store on Easter morning 1994. She hasn't been seen since...."

Heidi Allen's sister: What if Gary Thibodeau took her whereabouts to the grave?

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He's convicted of kidnapping and killing my sister. That's a fact. The jury found the evidence was there.

I wonder if Heidi's sister watched the recent interview of Juror Elizabeth Head, who said it was a miscarriage of justice. And that the jurors were persuaded to make their decision on who they believe more, because the evidence wasn't there.

Or the Juror who was interviewed in 2016. Heidi Allen kidnapping juror reacts to new evidence: Free Gary Thibodeau as soon as possible

The 73-year-old Phoenix woman told Syracuse.com in 2016 "It haunts me that it could be a terrible miscarriage of justice," said the woman, who spoke on the condition that her name not be published. "I think that Gary should be freed as quickly as possible."
 
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Authorities return Richard Thibodeau's van decades later

SCRIBA, N.Y. — What authorities say happened in the back of Richard Thibodeau's Chevy van more than two decades ago changed the course of his life. It also put his brother behind bars where he died earlier this month.

"We were pointed out to be kidnappers, and they were saying we did it this van. Well if we did it with this van, so they say, where's the evidence," Thibodeau asked.

But investigators say Thibodeau used the van to kidnap Allen. A witness even saw him driving it the day of her disappearance. They saw him leaning to the back to, what the witness said, push her head down.

"Here's my shifter and I have to move it like this and drive. Bring it up and keep shifting like that. Until I get to third gear and then I just keep driving," Thibodeau said.

He said Allen was nowhere near the van and he wasn't pushing anything down but the gear shifter, which was not brought up in a trial.

Investigator did a detailed search of the van. The FBI crime lab tested for fingerprints and hair inside. None matched Allen.
 
There goes the one chance of perhaps ever finding out what happened to Heidi with Thibodoeau's death, this is a disgrace.
 
Tarik said:
There goes the one chance of perhaps ever finding out what happened to Heidi with Thibodoeau's death, this is a disgrace.
Click to expand...

Heidi's case should be handed over to the New York State police so it can get a clean investigation.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently just approved legislation that will launch a state wide commission to investigate allegations of prosecutorial misconduct. Perhaps that will be of some help for Gary's brother Richard and his family.
 
I feel like it's too little too late, maybe it will change something in the long run but I doubt it will solve the disappearance.
 
NY Attorney General reaches no conclusion on Gary Thibodeau kidnapping conviction

In August the District Attorney told us the Conviction Review Bureau did not issue a final report. But, Oakes said, "when an independent, an investigative agency goes out and reaches the same conclusion it makes me much more comfortable."

We took another step and requested to review court documents related to the Gary Thibodeau case from his initial hearings and trial in 1994-95, all the way through his appeals that ended with his death in August.

That's where we uncovered the sole letter from the Conviction Review Bureau to the attorneys in the case detailing what they accomplished during their review. It turns out the agency that was called in to look at the case hardly looked at all.
 
Heidi Allen: 25 Years Later, Pain and Confusion Remain — But So Does Hope

Oswego County District Attorney Greg Oakes said he occasionally goes by the former D&W convenience store in New Haven where Heidi Allen was last seen on April 3, 1994.

"Every time I see it, my chest tightens up a little bit,” he said. It’s probably a similar feeling for anyone who grew up near the store, which is now a Valero gas station. But Allen’s sister, Lisa Buske, said she also has another feeling when thinking about Heidi.

"Hope is what makes it possible to put my feet on the floor and face each day,” Buske said. She and her family have been hanging on to hope for the last 25 years.

"Without hope, I would probably just lie in bed and not do anything,” she said.
 
Heidi Allen Case: The Trial That Freed One Thibodeau, Convicted Another

“People started searching right then. People were out on the roads looking. I remember that,” said Lisa Buske, Allen’s sister.
The search for 18-year-old Heidi Allen was frantic.

Within 36 hours of her mysterious disappearance from the D&W convenience store in New Haven on April 3, 1994, a command center was established at the nearby fire station. “People started searching right then. People were out on the roads looking. I remember that,” said Lisa Buske, Allen’s sister.

Strangers were among those taking part in the search. That’s where things changed for Richard Thibodeau.

"That’s when it all started right there. At the search,” Thibodeau said. “Me, my brother, Theresa, my brother’s wife. Bunch of us were in the van. We went to search Albright Road.”

Thibodeau — one of the last people to see Allen — and his brother Gary were both involved in the search and then the investigation. "They were sort of trying to accuse me of kidnapping this girl,” Thibodeau said.

Thibodeau was even asked to take a polygraph test.

"They tried to say I did this and that,” Thibodeau said. “I said you guys are crazy. I didn't do nothing like that.”

Buske has her doubts.

"In most criminal cases, the criminals return to the scene of the crime because they get off on it,” she said. “So it wouldn't surprise me that they came back. Because that's what criminals do, they get off on the pain.”

The search would continue over the next several hours — and then days — leading them to a van at Thibodeau’s home. Twenty-five years later, it’s still parked there but on Easter morning 1994, it was parked at the convenience store where Heidi Allen worked.

“The significance for the van for myself is, that there was an absence of physical evidence in the van which made me think, number one, the vehicle was wiped clean,” said current Oswego County District Attorney Gregory Oakes. “It doesn’t mean that she wasn’t in that van. It just means that it wasn’t there.”

It wouldn’t be long before Thibodeau went from being a searcher to a suspect.

"I was heading to work and they pulled us over. They had their guns drawn, everything,” he said. “I thought it was Al Capone. I said you guys are idiots.” His brother, Gary, was next on their list.

"Somehow they got ahold of my brother. They found that he had dirt on him so they arrested him,” Thibodeau said.

"There were statements [Gary] made to inmates while he was incarcerated in Massachusetts that seem to indicate that he knew what happened to Heidi Allen and he was responsible for it,” DA Oakes said.

That’s something Richard continues to disbelieve. "My brother supposedly said something to these guys, which I know he didn't. They offered them a deal,” he said.

Both men would eventually stand trial in 1995 for Allen’s disappearance. The two brothers had two different trials, two different juries and two different verdicts — even with the same evidence.

“When he was found guilty, how? I don’t know,” Thibodeau said. Richard was acquitted. Gary was convicted and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.

“This is a difficult case because there is no direct evidence, no DNA, no fingerprints that clearly established that Gary Thibodeau did this. There is a lot of circumstantial evidence that puts him at the scene of the crime,” DA Oakes said.
 
I'm confused. The DA states that Thibodeau's van was exceptionally cleaned and nothing was found. However, the FBI testified that there was hairs and fingerprints that were found inside the van. Some animal, some human. None matched Heidi.

Heidi Allen case fact check; Errors made by Oswego District Attorney

FBI Special Agent Christopher Allen also testified as a forensic expert for the bureau. He testified to the vacuum scraping from the van containing hair. Allen said he did not find any matching Heidi Allen's.

The FBI Forensic Team also were given samples of carpet from the van for their own examination. Trial testimony showed that more hairs were found, some from animals, but the human hairs did not match Heidi Allen's.
 

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'We want her home:' Heidi Allen's sister reflects on 25 years since disappearance (with clip)

April 3rd 2019

"NEW HAVEN N.Y. — April 3, 2019 marks 25 years since an Oswego County community changed forever with the kidnapping of Heidi Allen....

Heidi Allen’s mother died several years ago, but her father is still alive. Heidi’s sister Lisa Buske asked the community to help mark the solemn occasion on social media, by sharing a photo of a candle at 7:42. That was the last time on Easter Sunday morning 1994 when the 18-year-old was last seen alive....

CNYCentral asked Buske what she thinks happened to Heidi.

"She was kidnapped and murdered and we don't know where she is. We want her home."...

CNYCentral has spent the last eight months looking back at the Heidi Allen files. We have investigated key elements of the case and searched to discover what police knew about Heidi Allen, how detectives zeroed in on Richard and Gary Thibodeau as suspects and what led to the renewed investigation into her disappearance in 2014.

We are compiling those efforts into a one-hour special documentary 'The Heidi Allen Files’ which will air on Thursday, May 2 from 7-8 p.m. on NBC3."

'We want her home:' Heidi Allen's sister reflects on 25 years since disappearance
 
The Heidi Allen Case: Central New York's Most Enduring Mystery

"This series explores the disappearance of Heidi Allen. It's a case that began decades ago, but has left the residents of Central New York with many unanswered questions. As "The Heidi Allen Case" continues, you'll hear from different people whose lives were changed permanently as a result of Heidi's kidnapping -- starting from the beginning.

New episodes will be released weekly, through April. You can listen online, on any WRVO or NPR app, and on iTunes...."

The Heidi Allen Case: Central New York's Most Enduring Mystery
---

Listen: Episode 1: The Disappearance

• APR 3, 2019

Episode 1: The Disappearance
---

Listen: Episode 2: The Trials

• APR 9, 2019

Episode 2: The Trials
 
Has anyone ever heard of the Heidi Allen case? She disappeared from her job at a gas station in 1994. The man who was convicted has died in prison. This man was innocent. I am convinced the real killer is still out there. Anyone have anything they would like to share?
 
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