34 y.o.tortured victim Anthony Balaam is convicted of serially killing 4 gal hookers in NJ,during 2 yr rampage from '94-'96,sodomized & strangled gals,but jury thankfully REFUSES to impose legal murder sentence
Joe1orbit
This brief item is a few days old, but I just HATE the thought of a serial
killer being OVERLOOKED and forgotten about, so will post now. Better late than
never!
Over in New Jersey, 34 year old Anthony Balaam was found Guilty earlier this
month, of harvesting FOUR gal hookers, in serial fashion, during a two year
rampage. He killed hookers after they agreed to have sex with him in exchange
for drugs. In CLASSIC serial killer fashion, he sodomized & then strangled the
gals.
We learn below that even though prosecutors WERE demanding that the jury
impose MURDER upon Anthony, the jury SOMEHOW found the sanity to vote AGAINST
the DP for Anthony. A TINY victory for a societal torture victim, and yet the
LIFETIME of punitive punishment via prison, is JUST as outrgaous and
unjustifiable.
At LEAST 34 year old Anthony can CARVE OUT a personally empowering life of
mental & emotional untouchability, in prison, if his MIND is STRONG and
determined enough. I HOPE it is, and that he enjoys MANY decades of emotionally
happy life.
Anthony CONFESSED to all four harvestings, and a DNA link was established
too. So it looks like he is a GENUINE, although apparently not very prolific,
serial killer. NO indication that he is a suspect in ANY other unsolved murders
of gals. An assistent prosecutor tells us that Anthony was his USUAL happy
self, in court, during sentencing: "He smiled like he did the entire trial. He
never said a word. He just sat there and smiled." That's NICE. Just really
nice, to envision Anthony feeling CALM, happy, secure in his own skin, knowing
that we all live in our MINDS, and he has made his mind untouchable. To feel
"comfortable in your own skin", comfortable enough to sit, smile, and be happy
as your society tries to DESTROY you, that shows such POWER, such emotional and
intellectual strength! Bravo, Anthony!
We get just a FEW tidbits of info from the prosecution, on how Anthony's
ALCOHOLIC, ABUSING Mommy created him, filled him with the homicidal, True
Reality rage that he in turn expressed upon his harvestees. Yes, like ALL
serial killers, Anthony was of course SERIOUSLY ABUSED, during his childhood.
Stay Strong, Anthony!
Take care, JOE
The following appears courtesy of the 6/17/00 Associated Press news wire:
No death penalty for killer of 4 prostitutes
Associated Press
June 17, 2000
TRENTON - Jurors yesterday ruled against the death penalty for a Trenton man
convicted of sodomizing and strangling four prostitutes.
Anthony Balaam, 34, was convicted June 1 of killing the four women over a
two-year period during exchanges of sex for drugs. After deliberating Thursday
and yesterday morning, jurors decided not to impose the death penalty.
"I was surprised, but I admire the jury," said Assistant Prosecutor Brian
McCauley. "It's a tough decision to ask anyone to make."
McCauley said Balaam, who did not testify during the trial, is linked to the
women's deaths by DNA evidence and a confession.
Balaam was present at yesterday's hearing, McCauley said.
"He smiled like he did the entire trial," McCauley said. "He never said a word.
He just sat there and smiled."
The slain women were: Debra Ann Walker, 37, killed July 29, 1996; Concetta
Hayward, 27, killed April 10, 1995; Valentina Cuyler, 29, killed March 19,
1995; and Karen Denise Patterson, 41, killed Oct. 24, 1994. Balaam could face a
total of 160 years in prison.
----------------------------------
The following appears courtesy of the 6/17/00 online edition of The Trenton
Trentonian newspaper:
June 17, 2000
- Anthony Balaam, 34, the so-called "Trenton Strangler," was convicted on June
1 of killing the four women over a 22-month period during exchanges of sex for
drugs.
Staff and Wire Report
Jurors on Friday ruled against the death penalty for a Trenton man convicted of
sodomizing and strangling four prostitutes.
Anthony Balaam, 34, the so-called "Trenton Strangler," was convicted on June 1
of killing the four women over a 22-month period during exchanges of sex for
drugs.
The slain women were: Debra Ann Walker, 37, killed July 29, 1996; Concetta
Hayward, 27, killed April 10, 1995; Valentina Cuyler, 29, killed March 19,
1995; and Karen Denise Patterson, 41, killed on Oct. 24, 1994.
As a result of the convictions, Balaam was eligible for death by lethal
injection.
The panel of seven women and five men -- the same jury that had convicted
Balaam for the murders -- decided against imposing the death penalty after
deliberating Thursday afternoon and Friday morning.
In order to sentence Balaam to death, all 12 jurors had to agree that
aggravating factors outweighed any mitigating factors in his behalf "beyond a
reasonable doubt" according to the instructions give previously by Superior
Court Judge Thomas P. Kelly.
Assistant Prosecutor Brian McCauley said that the two aggravating factors being
considered for each of the for murders were: trying to escape detection, and
committing the murders during the court of sexual assault.
McCauley said the jury could not reach a unanimous decision in favor of any of
the aggravating factors.
"I was surprised, but I respect the jury for the decision," McCauley said. "It
takes a lot of courage to sit in a case like this."
McCauley said that Balaam will now face a life sentence for each of the murders
-- totaling as much as 160 years without parole. Balaam is scheduled for
sentencing on Aug. 25.
Other recent death penalty cases in Mercer County include those of Ambrose
Harris in 1996 and Jesse Timmendequas in 1997. In those cases, juries from
Burlington and Hunterdon counties, respectively, were used.
The Balaam case marks the first death penalty trial to use Mercer County jurors
since 1994, when Donald Loftin was sentenced to death for the fatal shooting of
a Lawrence gas station attendant.
No one has been executed in New Jersey since the death penalty was reinstated
in 1982. The last execution was in 1963.
-- The Associated Press contributed to this report.
----------------------------------
The following appears courtesy of the 6/14/00 online edition of The Trenton
Trentonian newspaper:
Defense: Balaam’s mother to blame
TONY WILSON, Staff Writer June 14, 2000
Anthony Balaam’s defense team Tuesday asked a Mercer County jury to consider
the convicted serial-strangler’s upbringing by an "unconcerned, alcoholic
mother" in deciding whether he lives or dies for the rape and murder of four
city women.
"Anthony Balaam’s entire formative years were spent with a mother who was an
alcoholic, concerned and consumed with her addiction and not her children,"
said one of the defendant’s mitigating factors submitted as testimony began
in the penalty phase of the two-pronged trial.
The separate death penalty trial was triggered by the same jury’s June 1
conviction of Balaam, 34, of Trenton, on all counts of knowing and purposeful
murder.
While the so-called "guilt phase" of the trial involved four weeks of
testimony, officials said the "penalty phase" could go to the jury as early as
late Wednesday or Thursday of this week.
On Tuesday, Superior Court Judge Thomas P. Kelly said the jury must now weigh
the aggravating factors submitted by the prosecution in support of capital
punishment against a total of 21 mitigating factors in the defendant’s
behalf.
Kelly also informed jurors that a finding by any one of them that the
aggravating factors didn’t outweigh the mitigating factors meant that Balaam
would escape the death penalty and must be sentenced instead to four life
prison terms with a total of 120 years (30 years for each murder) without
parole eligibility.
"This knowledge -- that the defendant would be sentenced to a minimum of 120
years -- should not influence your decision," cautioned Kelly.
Tuesday’s opening statements were highlighted by an impassioned appeal by
defense attorney Robert Obler, asking jurors to look deep into themselves
before invoking the death penalty.
"Killing is wrong. It was wrong for Anthony Balaam and it’s just as wrong for
us as a society," Obler said "He will be punished. At best, he’ll die in
prison. The question is now whether or not -- by your hand -- he dies."
Obler asked jurors to take individual responsibility in deciding Balaam’s
fate, noting that a dying lawyer friend once told him of the importance of
getting just one juror -- all that is needed -- to block the imposition of the
death penalty.
"If you can get just one person to care, just one person to give life then
you’ve done everything you can do on your job," Obler said of his late
friend’s advice.
Assistant Prosecutor Brian McCauley cited two aggravating factors in support of
the death penalty -- that the killings were accompanied by acts of sexual
assault, and, secondly, that they were committed to eliminate the victims as
witnesses.
Balaam was convicted of strangling Karen Patterson, 38; Connie Hayward, 24;
Valentina Cuyler, 28; and Debra Walker, 37. Police say he gave statements
linking himself to all four murders over a 22-month period after his arrest in
August 1996.
The statements gave lurid details as to how he sexually assaulted each of the
women after sex deals for money or drugs went awry.
The mitigating factors submitted by the defense included allegations that
Balaam’s mother "did nothing to provide or insure (him) even nominal
education," that Balaam was forced to live in homes infested with "rats, mice,
roaches and animal feces," and that Balaam himself "had and has a chronic drug
addiction, which affected his conduct and stability."
Kelly told the jurors they must evaluate these and other mitigating factors to
see if there are "extenuating circumstances that would justify a sentence less
than death."
--------------------------------
The following appears courtesy of the 7/16/00 online edition of The Trenton
Trentonian newspaper:
Jury still out in Balaam trial
June 16, 2000
By TONY WILSON
Staff Writer
Jurors went home Thursday without deciding whether convicted serial-strangler
Anthony Balaam should face the death penalty.
The panel of seven women and five men -- which convicted the 34-year-old
Trenton man earlier this month on all counts of murdering four city women -- is
slated to resume deliberations Friday morning.
They received the case about 10:30 a.m. Thursday and were excused for the night
by Superior Court Judge Thomas P. Kelly just before 4 p.m.
In order to sentence Balaam to death by lethal injection, all 12 jurors must
agree that aggravating factors against the defendant outweigh any mitigating
factors in his behalf "beyond a reasonable doubt," according to the judge’s
earlier instructionson laws applying to the case.
Without unanimity on that point, Balaam would be sentenced to four life prison
terms, of which a minimum of 120 years (30 years for each murder) would be
without parole eligibility.
That "real life" sentence with the 120-year minimum was offered to Balaam by
prosecutors in a proposed plea agreement prior to trial.
Assistant Prosecutor Brian McCauley, at that time, said that offer was extended
only after obtaining the approval of surviving family members of the victims.
"Their goal was to make sure he never gets out of prison," the prosecutor said.
But Balaam elected to go to trial and risk being sentenced to death.
Balaam was charged with strangling and sodomizing the four women after his
arrest in August 1996, when he gave Trenton police statements linking himself
to all four killings over a 22-month period.
The statements gave lurid details as to how he sexually assaulted each of the
women within a two-mile radius of his Stuyvesant Avenue home after sex deals
for money or drugs went awry.
Co-prosecutors McCauley and Doris Galuchie have cited two aggravating factors
in asking the jury to invoke the death penalty -- that the killings were
accompanied by acts of sexual assault and, secondly, that they were committed
to silence the victims as witnesses against him.
Defense lawyers Robert Obler and Linda Smink have asked the jury to reject the
death penalty and return a verdict under which Balaam must serve four life
terms with 120 years of parole eligibility.
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