State troopers face suit filed by ex-death row inmate

The lawsuit contends false statements were taken from witnesses.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Former death row inmate Thomas Kimbell is suing two Pennsylvania state troopers who were part of the murder investigation that ultimately led to two trials.
Kimbell's complaint is asking for monetary damages from Troopers Janice Wilson and William Phillips.
The lawsuit contends that there was "malicious prosecution" and Kimbell's rights under the Pennsylvania and U.S. constitutions were violated.
"The actions of Troopers Phillips and Wilson have caused substantial damages to Kimbell by reason of his extended, unwarranted and unlawful imprisonment and by reason of humiliation, mental distress and insult to which Mr. Kimbell has been subjected," the lawsuit states.
Kimbell, 47, was initially convicted in the stabbing deaths of Bonnie Lou Dryfuse, 34, her daughters, Jacqueline, 7, and Heather, 4, and her niece, Stephanie Herko, 5, in Pulaski Township. He spent four years on death row before being granted a new trial by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
Kimbell was then acquitted by a second jury and set free in May 2002.
No one else was charged, and the case remains unsolved.
Accusations
The lawsuit contends that Phillips focused the investigation solely on Kimbell even though there was evidence incriminating one or more people.
Court papers also state that the troopers are accused of taking false testimony from two witnesses. One witness, Gino Sapanero, could not have physically made the observations reflected in a statement prepared by Phillips, the lawsuit says.
The suit also contends that Peter Karenbauer, another death row inmate from Lawrence County, is a "individual of limited mental capacity, who suffers from serious psychiatric problems and who is highly suggestible."
During the first trial, Karenbauer testified that Kimbell confessed the murders when the two were cell mates in the Lawrence County Jail. Karenbauer refused to testify in the second trial.
Kimbell's lawsuit states that details given by Karenbauer "could not and would not have come from Plaintiff Kimbell and must, therefore, have been provided to Mr. Karenbauer by Trooper Phillips."
The lawsuit contends that Phillips also refused to allow Carol Porterfield, a neighbor of Kimbell's parents, to correct a misstatement in a prior investigative report made by state police. The report contends she said that Kimbell appeared to have recently showered just after the murders, leading to the inference he had removed the victim's blood from his body, according to the lawsuit.
Porterfield contends she said Kimbell's head was wet, but not that he had showered. It was a hot day and he was sweating, she said.
The lawsuit also contends that Phillips "is stating to others that Plaintiff Kimbell was guilty of the Dryfuse murders but had been let off by the jury."
Kimbell is asking for a court order instructing Phillips to stop saying those things publicly.
cioffi@vindy.com