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| Former Detective Officially Exonerated |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 01/09/2003 |
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A former Rhode Island police detective who spent six years in prison for a murder he didn't commit was officially exonerated Monday, hours after another man pleaded guilty to the crime and began serving time. 'I feel great,' the former detective, Jeffrey Scott Hornoff, said as he left the courthouse. Earlier Monday, Todd Barry was ordered to spend 30 years in prison for killing Victoria Cushman in 1989. Barry stunned investigators in November when he confessed beating Cushman to death. 'Over 13 years ago, I did a horrible thing,' Barry said in court. 'I killed a fellow human being, Victoria Cushman. I've lived in torment since that day.' Hornoff was convicted of the murder in 1996 and sentenced to life in prison. He was released from prison in November after Barry came forward and confessed. However, the charges against Hornoff couldn't be dropped until Barry entered a guilty plea or was convicted. Cushman's sister, Jennifer Poghossian, wiped away tears as prosecutor Randy White spoke of the slaying. 'As he sits incarcerated, I hope he will be tormented knowing the many, many lives he's destroyed,' Poghossian said. Cushman, 29, worked at a sporting goods store where Hornoff, a member of the police department dive team, bought his scuba gear. She had an affair with Hornoff, who was married with an infant son. On the morning of Aug. 11, 1989, she failed to show up for work and a co-worker discovered her body, bloody and beaten, in her apartment. The murder weapon, a 17-pound fire extinguisher, was found nearby. Detectives quickly ruled out Hornoff as a suspect, but an independent investigation later found numerous problems with the police department's handling of the case. Hornoff was charged with first-degree murder in December 1994 and a jury convicted him two years later. Hornoff always maintained his innocence even as he lost appeals. Barry also was romantically involved with Cushman at the time of her death, but was never a suspect in her slaying. Barry told investigators last month that he beat Cushman to death with a fire extinguisher. On the night of the murder, prosecutors say, Barry went to Cushman's apartment to talk, but tempers flared and Barry killed her. Attorney General Sheldon Whitehouse has said overwhelming guilt motivated him to come forward. |
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