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Jonathon EDINGTON
Classification: Murderer
Characteristics: He thought
the victim had molested his 2-year-old daughter
Number of victims: 1
Date of murder: August 28,
2006
Date of birth: October
29, 1976
Victim profile: Barry James,
59 (his neighbor)
Method of murder: Stabbing
with knife
Location: Fairfield, Connecticut, USA
Status: Sentenced to
12 years in prison for first-degree manslaughter
on August 17, 2007
Jonathon Edington
(b. 1977) is a Fairfield, Connecticut, United States, patent lawyer who
achieved national notoriety when on August 28, 2006, he allegedly
murdered his neighbor, Barry James, after being told that James had
molested Edington's two-year-old daughter.
On August 30 Edington was released on $1 million bond.
It is widely expected that Edington will attempt to mount a psychiatric
defense at his murder trial. The story had generated a large amount of
press coverage in the United States and overseas.
Life
Edington studied engineering at Syracuse University
and received his J.D. from Fordham Law School in New York City in 2004.
He practiced patent law at a small firm in Fairfield.
The trial
Court documents released on September 12, 2006 state
that a 2-year-old girl had complained to her mother, Christina Edington,
that her neighbor, Barry James, had repeatedly molested her.
Christina Edington was in Rhode Island with her
daughter visiting relatives when the murder took place. The girl had
just told Mrs. Edington when she immediately called to inform her
husband, Jonathon Edington.
According to the affidavit, within minutes Edington
went next door to 101 Colony Street in Fairfield, where he found Barry
James, 59, and stabbed him thirteen times in the heart, chest and hand.
He died about an hour later at Bridgeport Hospital.
James's estate hired attorney Peter Ambrose, who
issued a statement on behalf of the James family that disputed the
allegations: "The family of Barry James stand together in defending the
unfounded allegations of molestation. They are vicious and hurtful, and
the family only wishes that their son and brother had the opportunity to
defend himself. When all of the facts are made known, we are confident
that Barry will be cleared of these allegations."
On October 10, 2006, Edington pled "not guilty" to
all charges. On October 19, 2006, the Fairfield police concluded that
James did not molest Edington's daughter.
In June of 2007, Edington pled guilty to a reduced
charge of first degree manslaughter and is currently awaiting his
sentencing scheduled for August 17th, 2007. Prosecutor Jonathon Benedict
has said that he will recommend that Edington serve 20 years in prison.
The judge suspended eight years of that, leaving 12 years to serve, plus
five years probation.
Civil suit
The estate of Barry James filed an order in the
Bridgeport Superior Court for a $5 million dollar lien against
Edington's property. The lien would be used to secure any verdict
reached against Edington.
James' 87-year-old mother lived with him and would be
a beneficiary of the estate. She is legally blind and discovered the
body. After she showed police the body, they found Edington at home in
his kitchen with blood on his hands and forearms, authorities said.
Jonathon Edington (born October 29, 1976) is a
Fairfield, Connecticut, United States, patent lawyer who achieved
national notoriety when, on August 28, 2006, he murdered his neighbor,
Barry James, after being told that James had molested Edington's two-year-old
daughter. There has been no evidence found that Barry James molested
Edington's daughter or anyone else.
On August 30 Edington was released on $1 million bond.
It was widely expected that Edington would attempt to mount a
psychiatric defense at his murder trial, however Edington instead pled
guilty to the crime and was sentenced to 12 years in prison on August
31, 2007.
The story had generated a large amount of press
coverage in the United States and overseas.
Background
Edington studied engineering at Syracuse University,
and received his J.D. from Fordham Law School in New York City in 2004.
He practiced patent law at a small firm in Fairfield.
Criminal case
Court documents released on September 12, 2006 state
that a 2-year-old girl had complained to her mother, Christina Edington,
that her neighbor, Barry James, had repeatedly molested her. Christina
Edington was in Rhode Island with her daughter visiting relatives when
the murder took place. The girl had just told Mrs. Edington when she
immediately called to inform her husband, Jonathon Edington. According
to the affidavit, within minutes Edington went next door to 101 Colony
Street in Fairfield, where he found Barry James, 59, and stabbed him
thirteen times in the heart, chest and hand. He died about an hour later
at Bridgeport Hospital.
James' estate hired attorney Peter Ambrose, who
issued a statement on behalf of the James family that disputed the
allegations: "The family of Barry James stand together in defending the
unfounded allegations of molestation. They are vicious and hurtful, and
the family only wishes that their son and brother had the opportunity to
defend himself. When all of the facts are made known, we are confident
that Barry will be cleared of these allegations."
On October 10, 2006, Edington pled "not guilty" to
all charges. On October 19, 2006, the Fairfield police concluded that
James did not molest Edington's daughter. Further, after investigating
the molestation allegation and saying they found no evidence to back it
up, they also revealed that Edington's wife, Christina, refused to
cooperate with the investigation into the slaying, and prosecutor
Jonathan Benedict has said a defense psychiatrist determined Edington's
wife suffered from postpartum depression.
In June 2007, Edington pled guilty to a reduced
charge of first degree manslaughter. He was sentenced Friday, August 31,
2007, to 12 years in prison for first-degree manslaughter. Prosecutor
Jonathon Benedict had recommended that Edington serve 20 years in prison.
The judge suspended eight years of that, leaving 12 years to serve, plus
five years probation.
Civil case
The estate of Barry James filed an order in the
Bridgeport Superior Court for a $5 million dollar lien against
Edington's property. The lien would be used to secure any verdict
reached against Edington. James' 87-year-old mother lived with him and
would be a beneficiary of the estate. She is legally blind and
discovered the body. After she showed police the body, they found
Edington at home in his kitchen with blood on his hands and forearms,
authorities said.
An attorney for the Jameses served Christina Edington
with a wrongful death lawsuit, accusing her of triggering the stabbing
and making up the abuse claim. A similar lawsuit is pending against
Edington.
Wikipedia.org
Connecticut Lawyer Is Given 12 Years in Neighbor’s
Killing
The New York Times
September 1, 2007
BRIDGEPORT, Conn., Aug. 31 (AP) — A lawyer who
stabbed his neighbor in Fairfield, Conn., to death because he thought
the man had molested his 2-year-old daughter was sentenced on Friday to
12 years in prison for first-degree manslaughter.
“It’s a Shakespearean tragedy brought into the real
world,”
Judge Richard F. Comerford Jr. said at the sentencing.
“Something was set into motion in this man’s mind — real or perceived.
It was very real to him.”
The lawyer, Jonathon Edington, 30, attacked Barry
James, a neighbor, in Mr. James’s home last year after his wife told him
that she thought Mr. James had molested their daughter. Officers said
they found Mr. Edington washing the victim’s blood off in a kitchen sink.
Fairfield police officers said they found no evidence
to back up the molestation allegation. They said that Mr. Edington’s
wife, Christina, did not cooperate with investigators.
”We will never be the same,” Mr. James’s parents,
Rita and Charlie James, wrote in a victims’ statement filed with the
court. “A terrible tragedy has happened for nothing, but it has
destroyed all that we have.”
Mr. Edington’s lawyer, Andrew Bowman, said his client
was not in his right mind when he attacked Mr. James.
Mr. Edington, who had been free on bond, entered
court holding hands with his wife. After the sentence was read, Mr.
Edington was handcuffed and led away as his wife fell to her knees. The
judge issued a 20-year sentence, but suspended eight years of that,
leaving Mr. Edington to serve 12, plus 5 years’ probation.
Also on Friday, a lawyer for Mr. James’s parents
served Christina Edington with a wrongful death lawsuit, accusing her of
prompting the stabbing and making up the abuse claim. A similar lawsuit
is pending against Mr. Edington.
Ms. Edington did not comment as she left the
courthouse.
Edington sentenced
1st September 2007
Jonathan Edington, who pled
guilty to fatally stabbing his neighbor was
sentenced this week.
He was given a 12 year prison
sentence, along with 5 years of probation.
Prosecutors had recommended a sentence of 20 years.
So often we read or hear stories
of fathers who beat, molest, starve, and abuse their
children to the point of death. Jonathan Edington
was a father who felt he would do anything to
protect his daughter, even kill. Almost daily you
hear parents state that they would kill to protect
their children.
Jonathan Edington lived out those
words. He went to his neighbor Barry James and
stabbed him after he heard that the man had molested
his 2-year-old daughter.
On the surface I am sure that
many folks can relate to him and to the anger that
he felt over learning his daughter had been abused.
But a police investigation carried out after the
murder found no evidence to support the molestation
claims.
After having covered these kinds
of stories for 2 years now, I know that the justice
system in this country can be unwieldy, cumbersome,
and downright wrong sometimes. But we must let
police, prosecutors, judges, and juries do their
jobs. We live under the rule of law and that must
prevail in these cases, where it is not known for
sure that something happened.
As I said, most parents would
tell you they would kill to protect their children.
In Edington’s case, it was anger, not protection
that led him to kill.
UPDATE: 09/01/07
It would appear that the legal
troubles for the Edington family are just beginning.
During the sentencing, Judge
Richard Comerford Jr. not only sentenced Jonathan to
12 years in prison and 5 years of probation. But he
also made some remarks that seemed directed at his
wife, Christina Edington.
“There is a certain
responsibility that lies not only with this man,
but with others in this courtroom, someone else
will have to live with this on their conscience,”
he said. “As far as the blame for the situation
it lies at his feet, but there is one other
individual who it may be considered to have some
degree of culpability. I wouldn’t want to have
this on my conscience.”
Edington remains convinced that
his 2-year-old daughter was molested by Barry
James. In a letter to the judge he stated that he
trusts his wife completely and believes what she
told him that night on the phone. It was that call,
where Christina told him that their daughter was
afraid to go home because James came to her in “the
starry nights” and molested, which led him to stab
his neighbor to death.
As Christina Edington was leaving
court on Friday, after hearing her husband would be
spending over a decade in prison, she was presented
with a wrongful death civil lawsuit by state Marshal
Patti Randall. It was pushed to her through closing
elevator doors, as she tried to evade the Marshall.
There is another civil lawsuit
pending agaist Jonathan Edington as well.
While it is very likely that the
Edingtons’ will lose both these civil lawsuits as
well, it may be hard to recover any monies from them.
Jonathan Edington most likely had not been working
for the past year, despite being out on bond. It
was also released that Christina Edington, a stay-at-home
mother before the incident, has not worked because
she believes she suffers from multiple sclerosis.
I am sure however, that the
James’ family is more interested in trying to clear
their son’s name than receiving a financial windfall.
During the sentencing hearing they spoke about how
this case and the complaints made by the Edingtons’
against their son have affected them.
“As if
the brutality of your act were not enough, it
got worse,” said James’ sister, Charlene Benoit.
“At our instructions, our family and friends
turned to the local newspapers to read Barry’s
obituary. We crafted it to celebrate his life
and accomplishments as well as provide details
of his wake and funeral. “But this, too, was
destroyed as we were met with the horror of
banner headlines of your unfounded claims. As if
taking his flesh were not enough, you went after
his good name with your twisted accusations.”
No one will ever be sure what the
conversation between mother and daughter was that
night. Just as no one will most likely ever know
exactly what was said between Christina and Jonathan
that led him to grab a knife, break into his
neighbor’s bedroom, and stab him to death.
Edington 911 Tapes Released
20th June 2007
The audio recordings of two calls
made to the 9-1-1 dispatchers were made public
earlier this week.
In the recordings you hear two
very distinct people, handling the same situation in
totally different manners.
When Jonathan Edington makes the
call to 9-1-1, he is calm and matter-of-fact. He
merely reports that an ambulance and police are
needed at 101 Colony Street, the James’ home,
telling them, “a man has been stabbed.”
The operator tries to gather more
information from Edington, but only gets repeated
requests that he dispatch an ambulance to the
address. When the dispatcher refuses to stop asking
him “who stabbed him,” Edington simply hangs up.
Dispatcher 516, as he identifies himself on the call,
goes so far as to call Edington back, but is only
met with silence until Edington hangs up again.
Near the end of the call you can
begin to hear the beginnings of a bit of urgency,
possibly as he realizes the impact his actions are
going to have on Barry James, himself, and both
their families.
In the background you can hear a
female dispatcher, who is talking to Charles James,
the father of Barry James, who lies bleeding to
death on his bedroom floor.
The second file is that
conversation. In it, Charles James is speaking with
another dispatcher. Once he explains to her that
someone stabbed her son, she begins to ask the
questions that are required to gather as much on-site
information as possible for the police and first
responders.
As the dispatcher routes
emergency services to her, you can hear the James’
talking about why Edington did this, and Barry
James’ mother says that Edington said something
about his daughter.
Repeatedly Charles is asked about
the neighbor, as the dispatcher tries to gather
information for the police, as they respond to a
potentially deadly situation. The James’ family
does not even seem to know the name of the neighbor
who just stabbed their son.
Edington Pleads Guilty
15th June 2007
On August 28, 2006
Jonathan Edington arrived home from vacation, leaving
his wife and 2-year-old daughter in Rhode Island, still
enjoying themselves. Once he got home his wife calls to
give him some disturbing news. Their daughter does not
want to come home.
When Christina
Edington questions her daughter
further, she explains that she is
afraid to go home because she is
worried James Barry, their neighbor,
will come into her room at night.
Upon hearing this,
Jonathan Edington flies into a fury.
He hangs up the phone with his wife
and heads next door to confront
James Barry.
But he does a
great deal more than merely argue or
scream at the 59-year-old man, who
still lives with his parents. He
brings with him a kitchen knife and
after breaking into the home through
a bedroom window, proceeds to stab
the man over 12 times in the chest.
He then leaves
through the same window and returns
home. When police arrive shortly
afterwards, he is still in the
kitchen of his home, covered in
blood, the knife lieing on the
countertop.
Edington was
charged with first degree burglary
and murder.
While the
investigation into James Barry’s
death was pretty clear-cut, the
police still had something to
investigate, namely the molestation
charges against the stabbing victim.
But after a search of the Barry home
and a complete investigation, they
found no evidence Barry ever
molested the Edington child.
On Friday
Jonathan Edington pleaded quilty to
first-degree manslaughter in the
death of James Barry. He could face
a maximum of 20 years in prison.
State’s Attorney
Jonathan Benedict told the judge in
the case that while he thought the
molestation claim was “bogus,” he
did feel that Edington believe it
was true when he attacked his
neighbor. This put Edington in a
state of “extreme emotional
disturbance” which was one of the
defenses his attorneys planned to
use during the trial.
A sentencing
hearing will be held on August 17
2007. Until then, Jonathan Edington
remains free on $1 million bond.
UPDATE: 06/15/07
9:04 PM
State’s
Prosecutor Benedict said today that
he will ask for a sentence of 20
years for Edington.
It was also
released that charges may have been
brought against Christina Edington,
had she given a formal statement to
authorities.
Benedict
called the molestation claim “bogus,”
but said Christina Edington was
not charged with a crime because
she never gave a sworn statement
to police.
“There’s no
statute in Connecticut that
covers that conduct,” Benedict
said.
A defense
psychiatrist had determined that she
suffered from postpartum depression.
Edington To Use
Insanity Defense
3rd May
2007
On August 28th, Jonathan Edington
alleged broke into his neighbor’s home and stabbed
him to death. Barry James died on his bedroom floor,
while his mother called 9-1-1. She later told
police that she watched Edington leave through the
window he used to enter the room after attacking her
son.
Edington burst into the home
after he received a call from his wife, who was on
vacation with their small child. She told her
husband that their daughter was afraid to come home
because she was afraid of Barry. The 2-year-old
told her mother that he “puts it on her belly and
her nose” and when her mother asked her when he did
this, she told her, “He comes to me in the starry
nights.”
When police arrived at the
Edington home, they found him in his kitchen,
washing blood from his hands and a bloody knife on
the counter next to him. They arrested charged him
with first degree burglary and murder.
They have since investigated the
claims of sexual abuse made by the Edington family,
and found no evidence that Barry had any contact
with their daughter.
Today Jonathan Edington’s lawyers
filed papers in court, informing prosecutors they
will be using a defense of extreme emotional
disturbance, a form of the insanity defense. They
will offer the testimony of experts to show his
impaired mental state at the time of the attack.
James Family Open Civil Case
18th January 2007
The family of Jonathon Edington,
who is currently charged with the murder of Barry
James, is now being sued by his family for $5
million dollars.
James’ sister and parents are
suing the Edingtons due to the emotional distress
caused by Jame’s murder. Richard Meehan, the
attorney for the family made a statement to
reporters.
“There should be compensation to
his estate, particularly his parents, for the ordeal
they witnessed,” Meehan said. “They have not been
able to return to their home because of this.”
According to reports, Edington
received a phone call from his wife after returning
from a trip. During their conversation she told her
husband their 2-year-old daughter did not want to
return home because she was afraid of James. She
told her mother that he came to her at night and
molested her.
Jonathon Edington then got off
the phone, and allegedly broke into his next-door-neighbor’s
home armed with a knife from his kitchen. Edington
attacked and stabbed him repeatedly then left
through the same window through which he had entered.
Barry Jame’s mother was the one
who found her son and call 9-1-1 who arrived at the
scene to find Edington in his kitchen, with a bloody
knife next to him on the counter, and blood on his
clothes.
Police Unable to Verify
Molestation Claim
20th October 2006
Jonathon Edington received a
phone call on August 28, 2006 that changed the lives
of so many people.
On that fateful day, he had
returned home early from vacation, leaving his wife
and daughter in Rhode Island. After he was home, his
wife called, upset about a conversation she had with
their daughter.
The little girl told her mother
she did not want to return home, because of Barry.
Barry meant James Barry, their 59-year-old neighbor.
Her mother continued to question her and finally the
girl told her something horrific.
The girl said “that Barry
puts it on her belly and her nose.” When her
mother asked her when James does this, she
replied, “He comes to me in the starry nights.”
This was the subject of the phone
call. Afterwards, Jonathon Edington took a knife,
broke into the bedroom window of his neighbor, and
stabbed his over 10 times, killing him.
The police arrived and took
Edington into custody for the murder of Barry. The
next day his wife filed molestation charges against
the now deceased Barry.
Today the police released their
findings in that investigation.
“We have not been able to
corroborate the mother’s report,” said
Bridgeport State’s Attorney Jonathan Benedict.
“There’s not a lot of evidence on it at this
point that we’ve been able to gather.”
UPDATE 10/19/06
The police clarified their
previous statement, making sure to indicate there
was no evidence found.
“There’s
no evidence of any molestation occurring,”
police Capt. Gary MacNamara said. “We’re
confident that the evidence does not support any
molestation.”
This case has been polarizing for
many readers. Some have expressed support for
Edington, feeling that he removed a child molestor
and should not be punished. Others, and I count
myself in this, wish things had gone a different way.
That the Edington family had filed the molestation
case first, then let the police do their job to
investigate the accusations. Now we will probably
never go what, if anything, was really going on
between James Barry and the Edington child.
I know it must have been terrible
to have their 2-year-old child saying such things.
Parents always want to protect their children from
situations like this. Parents also believe their
children, sometimes when no one else does. The
Edingtons were no different. They probably had no
reason to doubt anything their child said to them.
But, as other experts have
pointed out since the case made news, children can
confuse fact and fiction, but not be lieing. Perhaps
this was the case with the Edington’s daughter.
Now we will never know what
happened. All we know if that one man is dead,
another is charged with murder, and two families are
forever changed.
Details Released About Molestation
Claim
15th September 2006
A day after Jonathon Edington
allegedly killed James Barry upon learning that he
molested his 2-year-old daughter, his wife filed a
police complaint. Today some details of that police
report were released, which point to when the child
reported the claim and some of what she said.
During their investigation,
police have received a search warrant for a 1991
Toyota Cressida owned by the James family. According
to the affidavit, police are searching for “cutting
instruments and tools capable of gaining access to a
locked premises’’ along with other evidence.
According to the police report,
the girl told her mother about the alleged
molestation while the family was visiting relatives
in Rhode Island.
The girl “explained that she
did not want to go home because of Barry,”
police said in the report. When her mother asked
her to explain, the girl said “that Barry puts
it on her belly and her nose,” the report said.
When her mother asked her when James does this,
she replied, “He comes to me in the starry
nights.”
Police are investigating the
molestation claim but it may prove difficult to
prove. Not only is the accused now dead, but the
child’s age may come into play.
“I think
there is certainly misgivings about a report of
a 2-year-old. Children under 3 have very, very
fragile abilities to recount their day,” said
Lucy McGough, author of “Child Witnesses:
Fragile Voices in the American Legal System.”
Children under 4 are
difficult to get qualified to testify in court
in many states because of concerns about the
reliability of their statements, McGough said.
She does
however state that 2-year-olds are able to make
claims of sexual abuse.
“They
may not know the words, but they can point to
their body parts that were touched,” McGough
said.
A
voluntary, spontaneous report by a child may be
more reliable than a claim arising from an adult
questioning the child, McGough said.
Reading the few details of the
complaint still paint a vivid picture. A young child,
just 2 years old, listens in fear as her window
slides open in her bedroom. She curls into the fetal
position and tries to hide under the cover, maybe
pretend to be sound asleep as the bed moves while he
sits next to her.
She then hears the unmistakable
sound of a zipper being released, or maybe just
listening to the rustle of clothes being pulled down.
She stares out her window, at the “starry night,”
while he touches her and forces himself on her.
After a while he gets up, and leaves through the
window again. She is left alone, afraid but sure
that it will happen again.
I am not sure, as no one really
is except the child, if the complaint is true, if
this is something in her imagination, or something
that she saw and then confused with a true
experience.
But what I do know is that there
are children who have similar experiences every
night. We may find that this specific case of child
abuse cannot be substantiated, but that does not
lessen the horror of what happens of thousands of
children each year. They become victims of family
members, friends, and strangers each day and are
forever changed.
This case will eventually fade
from the limelight. We will forget the names
Jonathon Edington, James Barry. But what will not
end is the fact that these types of cases will
continue to happen. Some will be reported, many will
not. And only a small fraction of those reported
will ever find their way into a newspaper or online
site such as this.
