Murder plot figure from New London seeks new trial
A hearing started Monday in a bid for a new trial by former New London attorney Beth Ann Carpenter, who is serving a life sentence for plotting the 1994 murder of her brother-in-law, Anson “Buzz” Clinton.
Carpenter filed a habeas corpus petition, which is a civil complaint that alleges she is being held in prison illegally. It allows her to produce evidence in an attempt to call into question the results of the original trial. She is represented by attorneys Norman Pattis and Susan Nugent in a hearing taking place at Rockville Superior Court.
After a high-profile trial that spawned television specials and books, a New London jury found Carpenter guilty in 2002 of capital felony, for convincing her then-lover and employer, attorney Haiman Clein, to arrange for Clinton’s murder. Clinton was married to Carpenter’s sister, Kim, and Carpenter’s family had fought for custody over Kim’s daughter.
Clein, who admitted he was obsessed with Carpenter, hired Mark Despres, his client and cocaine dealer, to kill Clinton. Despres shot Clinton on the Rocky Neck Connector in East Lyme after luring him out on the pretense of looking at a truck Clinton was selling.
After her conviction and having exhausted all other avenues of appeal, Carpenter filed a habeas petition in 2010 that was later withdrawn and never went to a hearing. In that petition she claimed, among other allegations, that there was no physical evidence to convict her and that the state’s case relied on Clein’s testimony.
“(Clein) had an obsessive and deviant sexual interest in Ms. Carpenter, was a narcotics addict and had engaged in acts of theft involving funds belonging to his former law clients,” the lawsuit stated.
Clein was the key witness at Carpenter’s trial and accepted a plea agreement and was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Despres also accepted a plea deal and a 45-year sentence.
The court has scheduled six days for the hearing, which continues today and starts again on Dec. 8.
Held at York Correctional Institution in Niantic, Carpenter turned 51 years old on Sunday.
g.smith@theday.com
Twitter: @SmittyDay
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