A jury on Friday convicted a man in the 1993 killing of a woman near Buffalo, ending his third trial after a legal odyssey that has stretched on for decades.
Brian Scott Lorenz, 56, was originally convicted in 1994, along with another man, James Pugh, of murdering Deborah Meindl. The 33-year-old nursing student and mother of two had been stabbed dozens of times and strangled inside her home in Tonawanda that year. Her body was found by her 10-year-old daughter.
Both Lorenz and Pugh denied involvement in the killing. A judge in 2023 ordered new trials for the men, after new testing did not find their DNA at the crime scene, including on a knife used in the attack. The judge also said prosecutors withheld some evidence that could have helped the defense.
In December, prosecutors dropped their efforts to retry Pugh, just as a new trial was set to begin. They admitted they could no longer meet the burden of proof due to “our inability to present the same evidence deemed admissible in the original trial and the unavailability of critical witnesses more than 30 years later.”
While second trial of Lorenz last year ended in a mistrial after the jury deadlocked, prosecutors still pursued their case against him. Lorenz was quickly convicted Friday, following a two-week trial, on murder and burglary charges.
Lorenz’s lawyers, who have worked to exonerate him for years, plan to appeal the decision.
“It’s very, very scary,” said Ilann M. Maazel, one of Lorenz’s lawyers told The New York Times. “I think innocence should matter. I think the truth should matter.”
Representatives of Meindl’s family, including her sister and her youngest daughter, were in court on Friday to watch the proceedings. After the verdict, they thanked Erie County district attorney, Michael J. Keane.
Keane said in a statement: “This outcome is not just a legal victory: It is a testament to the persistence of truth and the unwavering commitment of dedicated public servants tasked with the pursuit of justice.”
Police began investigating Lorenz and Pugh on the theory that they killed Meindl during a home burglary. They were charged after Lorenz, then under arrest for another crime in Iowa, confessed to murdering Meindl and implicated Pugh. Lorenz later said it was a false confession.
