Syracuse, NY -- There's no proof the teenager accused of attacking Jim Gifford intended to kill the elderly man when a group of drunk teens arrived at the 7-Eleven in Elmwood, District Attorney William Fitzpatrick said this morning.
But as the other teens went inside to shop, prosecutors say Romeo Williams stopped long enough to punch Gifford, 70, causing the unsuspecting victim to fall backwards and hit his head in the parking lot.
That blow around 5 a.m. likely knocked Gifford out and eventually caused his death four days later, District Attorney William Fitzpatrick said this morning. Gifford suffered a brain injury, a diffuse axonal injury, that damaged both the white and gray matter and later caused his heart to stop beating, according to the Medical Examiner's Office.
Williams, 18, of Solvay, was indicted today on first- and second-degree manslaughter charges, as well as second-degree assault. Without more evidence, there is no proof Williams stopped that day to intentionally kill Gifford, Fitzpatrick said.
"Mr. Gifford was in the wrong place at the wrong time," he said.
Fitzpatrick said he called 15 other DA's in the state to see if any of them thought Williams could be charged with depraved indifference murder, but all said no, Fitzpatrick said.
There was no confession, no weapon (Williams was wearing sneakers, not steel-toed boots) and no injury severe enough to indicate Williams meant to kill (such as multiple skull fractures), Fitzpatrick said. It didn't appear Williams even stopped at the store that morning to attack Gifford -- he was a passenger in a car driven by a friend.
After knocking out the elderly man that morning, Williams went into the store and took off his cap, according to video taken inside. That appears to be what Police Chief Frank Fowler was referring to when he said Williams "celebrated" inside. That video has not been made public.
About a minute later, Williams left the store and kicked the limp Gifford at least twice, Fitzpatrick said. His friends dragged Williams away and the group left in the car.
But it's the initial punch before Williams went inside that appeared to cause the fatal brain injury, Fitzpatrick said. That injury caused damage to the brain stem, which led Gifford's heart to stop beating.
Fitzpatrick noted that first-degree manslaughter -- defined as the defendant intending to cause serious physical injury which results in death -- carried a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.
The lesser homicide charge, second-degree manslaughter, is when the defendant recklessly causes someone's death. It is punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Assault carries a sentence of up to seven years in prison. Williams also faces a previous weapons charge that could get him 15 years in prison.
All told, Williams could face nearly 50 years in prison if convicted of the charges.
The grand jury process took longer than usual because an initial autopsy appeared to show Gifford died of a heart attack. But a closer examination revealed the small brain injury, which cemented the homicide charges against Williams, Fitzpatrick said.
The DA said no one piece of evidence ruled out a murder charge under the depraved indifference theory. But he noted that a series of appeals decisions render that charge unavailable except for a very specific set of circumstances.
The prototypical "depraved indifference" murder, as defined by the courts, is causing a victim's death by leaving them helpless and unclothed by the side of the road in winter. T
The DA said he understood that people believe Williams's alleged actions were depraved. "I would not correct someone if they said, "That sounds depraved,'" Fitzpatrick said. "The problem is the court of appeals has given a specific set of circumstances.
"Ethically, we would have been wrong" to present a murder charge to the grand jury, he said.