Esteban Carpio

Background

Esteban Carpio was convicted and served a life sentence for the murder of a policeman. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts on July 30, 1978.

The offence

Carpio was convicted of the murder of Providence Police Detective Sgt. James L. Allen at Providence Police headquarters on April 17, 2005. While Carpio was being questioned by the Providence Police for the stabbing of an 85-year-old woman, a detective left the third floor interview room, leaving Allen alone with Carpio. Carpio took Allen's gun and shot him twice, killing him. Carpio then jumped out of the window and was apprehended 45 minutes later. Carpio also stabbed Madeline Gatta. The trial described the injured woman as an elderly woman, and later identified her as Madeline Gatta, with ages given as 84 and 85.

Investigation

A press conference statement made at the time by Providence Police Chief Dean M. Esserman stated that Carpio's injuries were sustained as a result of his jump from the third floor of a building and struggle with law enforcement. An FBI investigation concluded that Providence police did not use excessive force.

Arrest

The trial described that Carpio was brought to police headquarters late on April 16, 2005 to be questioned about the stabbing of Madeline Gatta earlier that day. After the shooting, Carpio was captured in downtown Providence and fought violently with the officers who tried to arrest him, according to trial testimony. At his arraignment, Carpio came in wearing a mask, with his eyes red and swollen, with his family making accusations of police brutality. A spokeswoman for the state Department of Corrections called the use of the mask a rare security measure.

State Police Detective Christopher Zarrella testified at trial that, in arresting Carpio, he punched Carpio three times in the face with his closed fist. Zarrella testified that he struck him because he was trying to strike him, and because he thought he had a weapon. Zarrella added that Carpio was swinging at him and that he believed that his life was in danger. Until Zarrella’s testimony, the public never knew who injured Carpio the night of the arrest. According to Zarrella’s testimony, Zarrella broke bones in Carpio's face. Carpio last year wore a protective face shield at his arraignment, which corrections officials said was to prevent him from spitting at officers.

Trial

Carpio pleaded not guilty by virtue of insanity. His own lawyer said in an opening statement earlier that month that the evidence would be overwhelming that his client fatally shot a police detective and stabbed an elderly woman, and that the key question was not whether Carpio committed the acts but whether he was too deranged to be held criminally responsible. On June 27, 2006, a jury found Carpio guilty of the murder of Detective Allen and the stabbing of Madeline Gatta. The jury rejected Carpio’s insanity defense.

The verdict was reported at 3:25 p.m. on the 14th day of the trial, after about nine hours of deliberation over two days. The verdict was described as being reached by an all-white jury of nine women and three men. After the proceedings, Carpio’s relatives in the gallery began crying, including Yvonne Carpio, his mother and a teacher in the Boston public schools. Yvonne Carpio had taken the stand in her son's defense.

Samein Phin testified that she had grown alarmed by the behavior of her boyfriend, Esteban Carpio, in the days before he was accused of shooting a city detective inside police headquarters. Phin testified that he would talk to himself and to his hand and recalled him saying, "I'm the finest gold." Phin said, "He was telling me that somebody did voodoo on him and he was scared," and described herself as a retired escort and streetwalker as well as the mother of Carpio's 4-year-old daughter. Phin testified that she took Carpio to a Buddhist temple to pray for help. Phin testified that a monk blessed a string that Carpio tied around his waist to drive away the devil and evil spirits.

Phin testified that when police came to her home to question Carpio about the stabbing of an elderly woman in April 2005, she warned the detectives that Carpio was suffering a nervous breakdown, was having trouble sleeping and was not in his right mind. Phin testified that she gave the same information to Detective Sgt. James L. Allen during a brief conversation at police headquarters and that Allen offered to get Carpio help if he needed it.

Carpio’s mother, Yvonne Carpio, testified that in the weeks before the killing, her son told her the devil was out to get him and that he was cursed. Yvonne Carpio testified that she grew so concerned about her son's behavior that on April 2, 2005, she called for an ambulance to come to her home in Boston. She testified that her son was taken to Boston's Faulkner Hospital but later released and given five Ambien pills. She testified that her son later showed her a string that he tied around his waist that was supposed to keep the devil and evil spirits away.

The trial testimony included neuropsychologist Paul A. Spiers, who testified for the defense. Spiers testified that Esteban Carpio suffered from a major mental illness and "was probably in the throes of psychosis" when he shot and killed a city police detective last year. Spiers testified that, in his opinion, as a result of the psychosis, Carpio lacked the capacity to conform his behavior to the requirements of the law. Spiers based his conclusions on an interview with Carpio last November and on medical records from Carpio's visits to Faulkner Hospital in Boston and Rhode Island Hospital days before the April 16, 2005, shooting at Providence police headquarters. Spiers also listened to tapes of a police detective's interview with Carpio at Rhode Island Hospital after Carpio's arrest in the shooting.

The jury heard audio recordings of two police interviews with Carpio. One recording featured a sedated Carpio, being interviewed by Detective John Finegan at Rhode Island Hospital at about 3 a.m., a few hours after the fatal shooting of Detective Sgt. James L. Allen. The second was an hour-long interview at police headquarters shortly after 10 the same morning. In that interview, Carpio was described as hysterical and was questioned by Finegan and Detective Sgt. Vincent Mansolillo, who alternated his questions with attempts to calm Carpio down. Carpio at times sobbed and insisted he was "crazy" and that nobody loved him.

City police Detective Patricia Cornell testified that either one of two gunshot wounds suffered by Detective Sgt. James L. Allen could have killed him. Cornell testified that the headshot was at close range, according to gunshot residue on him. She testified that the gunshot to the clavicle was from at least three feet away. Cornell testified that three bullets were fired in the conference room at police headquarters where the shooting occurred in April 2005. She testified that the third was lodged in the base of a table in the room. Cornell testified that evidence showed that the bullet was fired from someone standing with his back to the interior of the closed conference room door. Cornell testified that rabbit fur from Carpio's rabbit fur jacket was found on the door.

The trial included testimony and demonstrations involving Allen’s holster. Providence police Sgt. Robert Boehm, who works in the department’s weapons unit, used Allen's holster—known as a pancake holster—to show the jury how one would remove the gun. In a demonstration, Boehm used Allen's actual gun, with the evidence tag hanging off.

A witness was described as the owner of a Boston barber shop, where Carpio told police he worked on the day Allen was killed. The witness was Doyen Dunkley, of A-1 Barber Shop, who denied knowing or ever seeing Carpio. The public narrative described “Trooper testifies he punched Carpio in the face,” linked to State Police Detective Chistopher Zarrella’s testimony.

Carpio’s arraignment and family testimony were described as part of the trial narrative. When Carpio’s guards stood him up at the defense table after the proceedings, he turned to his mother and mouthed the words, "I love you, Mom." His mother called out, "I love you, Stevie," using the English translation of her son's first name.

Sentencing

On October 10, 2006, Superior Court Judge Robert D. Krause sentenced Esteban Carpio to life without parole for the 2005 murder of Detective Sgt. James L. Allen. Judge Krause also gave Carpio an additional life sentence for the use of a firearm while committing a crime. Judge Krause sentenced Carpio to 20 years in prison for the assault on Madeline Gatta, identified as now 84.

Judge Krause said:

"It would appear to the court, Mr. Carpio, that you are incorrigible,"

Judge Krause also said that allowing Carpio even the possibility of parole would be antithetical in a civilized society.

Before sentencing, Carpio told the court:

"I was doing all right until one day I woke up and there was something wrong with me."

After his statement, Carpio made a public statement in which he said he was unable to control himself the night at the police station when he killed Sgt. Allen with the detective's gun. Carpio began to cry during his statement and addressed the Allen family, saying:

"I am truly sorry for what has happened to the victims and the victims' families," and he also apologized for what had happened to the victims and the victims' families.

Carpio’s lawyer, Robert L. Sheketoff, said he will appeal the conviction and sentence. Carpio never denied that he killed the officer.

Attorney General Patrick Lynch issued a statement praising the sentence and said:

"I thank the Court, I thank Judge Krause, for this sentence. There is no greater punishment, no tougher penalty, than that which Judge Krause just -- and justly --imposed: life without the possibility of parole," "Clearly, Esteban Carpio's crimes, of which he was convicted in June, qualify as the worst of the worst. In the event that the defendant pursues his Constitutional rights and appeals his conviction, and this sentence, I will fight to the very end to ensure that they stand. To do any less would dishonor the memory of one of the best officers ever to wear the badge of the Providence Police Department."

Mayor David N. Cicilline also issued a statement:

"Although today’s guilty verdict concludes an important chapter in the criminal proceedings, it’s important to remember that the loss of Detective Allen continues to be a great source of pain the Allen family, Police Department and the city of Providence," "The sacrifices Detective Allen made on behalf of the residents of this city will never be forgotten."

Appeals

Carpio’s lawyer, Robert L.

Outcome

A jury found Carpio guilty of the murder of Detective Sgt. James L. Allen and the stabbing of Madeline Gatta on June 27, 2006. Carpio was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the murder, with additional life sentencing for use of a firearm and 20 years for the assault.

Other details

A jury description included that Carpio’s trial involved about nine hours of deliberation over two days. The trial narrative described that corrections officials said Carpio refused to eat in prison and banged his head on the wall. The Associated Press narrative described that doctors who examined Carpio classified him as psychotic. The Associated Press narrative included a discussion of insanity defenses and referenced Howard Zonana, H. Reed Cosper, and examples including John Hinckley Jr., Lorena Bobbitt, and Andrea Yates. The Associated Press narrative included a description of the Rhode Island threshold for insanity, and referenced prosecutor Paul Daly. The Associated Press narrative stated that prosecutors plan to seek life in prison without parole for Carpio if convicted of murdering Allen, and that he would be placed in the state mental hospital if acquitted by reason of insanity. One described charge stated Carpio was standing trial on charges that he killed Detective Sgt. James Allen with the officer's own gun at police headquarters, hours after attacking an 84-year-old woman with a knife. Carpio’s first court appearance was described as including a heavily bruised face, and Carpio’s family alleged he was a victim of police brutality.