_________________________________________
Whose
Were They?
Police Retreived 4 Fingerprints from a Trimline
Phone, the Cord of which was used to Bind the Victim's Ankles. Tpr Arthur Martin Compared them to LaGuer's "with neg results".
The Evidence Says:
Jose Orlando Gomez
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| Jose Gomez (early 1990's) |
The Evidence....
1983
Gomez
is identified as "likelier suspect" but police never question him.
Soon after the crime was committed private investigators identified
Jose Gomez as a "likelier suspect." Of similar build and complexion to LaGuer he had access to the apartment complex.
Unlike LaGuer, Gomez had a history of sexual misconduct. One investigator independently verified that Gomez had been
sent to Worcester State Hospital for that reason.
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| click for link |
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| Worcester State Hospital |
Anecdotal evidence points to Jose Gomez: Juror
William Nowick's statement in a 7/12/89 article by Andrew Baron (Why Can't This Man Get A New Trial?). The victim's courtroom testimony as noted in Richard Nangle's October 1986 series.
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| Waterways entrance |
Gomez' mother,
Felicita, had lived in the Waterways, so he knew the building. Leominster Spanish American Center director
Neddy Latimer says Gomez was acting erratically around the time of the crime. He allegedly burst into the fire station
yelling "nobody will help me, they treat me like I have the plague." She said Felicita Gomez sought counseling for
her son for sexually assaulting family members.
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|
| from investigators' report |
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1991
Gomez
Allegedly Twice Tells Bartender Nancy Martinez (no relation to investigator of the same name) That
He Committed The Crime
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| formerly the Plymouth Cafe |
Notes kept by attorney John LaChance allege
that a Nancy Martinez heard Gomez' confession. The owner of J.C. Fenwicks confirmed that he had a bartender of that name in
the early 1990s.
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1998
Gomez Arrested for Rape!
In May 1998, a few weeks before LaGuer's
first parole hearing, Jose Orlando Gomez was arrested and charged with the crime of rape (above). His brother, who also has
an alleged rape charge on record, posted bail. Gomez hired a lawyer. On the day of the trial the rape charge was dropped
in a plea bargain with DA John Conte's office. He served 59 days in prison (left).
______________________________
2001
Police Release the Front (but not the back) of a Fingerprint
Report 18 Years After the Fact
LaGuer voluntarlily accompanied police
to the station on July 15, 1983 to answer questions about the attack on his neighbor. The police told him they had recovered
fingerprints from the crimes scene. LaGuer gave the police a set of his fingerprints (left) for comparison. The report prepared the next day (right) shows the prints in question did NOT match LaGuer's.
Police and prosecutors withheld this information for more than 18 years until November 2001.
In an email (left) to LaGuer's lawyer,
assistant district attorney Sandra Hautanen claimed to have no knowledge of why the back of the report, which may show the
actual fingerprints retreived from the crime scene, is missing.
______________________________________________
2003 / 2004
Jose Gomez is Still With His Mother
Soon after the brutal crime was committed reports surfaced that the true perpetrator
would be apprehended once his mother is located. Evidence suggests this is still the case twenty three years later. Jose Gomez
lived in Leominster until a few years ago....
....when he was summonsed for violating a restraining order in 1999
he lived at 143 Meadowbook Lane in Fitchburg. He still lives there. With his mother!
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