A Chisholm man has been found guilty of killing a 38-year-old woman more than 30 years ago after he was granted a new trial this year. On Friday, Michael Allan Carbo, Jr., 56, was found guilty by a St. Louis County grand jury of two counts of first-degree murder during first-degree criminal sexual conduct leading to the death of Nancy Daugherty in 1986. Carbo had previously been convicted of both counts following his initial 2022 trial. The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled he should have been permitted to present alternative-perpetrator evidence, prompting the retrial last month.
According to trial evidence, Carbo, then 18, attacked Daugherty around 3:00 AM at her Chisholm home. He raped and strangled her in her bed. At the time of her death, Daugherty worked as an aide at a local nursing home, part-time bartender, and volunteered as an EMT. She had planned to move to the Twin Cities for schooling, and it was noted she was set to leave Chisholm the morning her body was found. The case remained unsolved for decades until genetic genealogy connected Carbo to the DNA found at the crime scene.
Both charges against Carbo carry mandatory life sentences with eligibility for parole after 17 years. “Our thoughts go out to the family of Nancy Daugherty,” said St. Louis County Attorney Kim Maki. “This has been a long road to justice. The family of Ms. Daugherty has shown the utmost strength, and we thank them for their support from the beginning to the end.”
Simultaneously, another case involving wrongful conviction has gained attention. Niyaz Masthan, convicted of gang rape and robbery, has filed an appeal to the Supreme Court, claiming his innocence. Masthan, 38, has been incarcerated since February 2015, when he was arrested. The trial court sentenced him to life imprisonment on July 18, 2016, but the Kerala High Court upheld his sentence for 30 years on June 12, 2024, even citing the victim's questionable credibility.
Masthan's lawyers, Renjith Marar and T K Nayak, argue there’s insufficient evidence to prove his guilt beyond reasonable doubt. Nayak highlighted the absence of significant physical injuries on the victim, emphasizing, “The victim... claimed to have been gang-raped... yet the medical reports... contain no evidence of genital injuries or other physical signs of sexual assault.”
Masthan’s appeal also questions the reliability of the victim's testimony, which has altered over time. Initially, she stated only one man assaulted her, yet later claimed involvement of all four accused, including Masthan. Nayak criticized the conduct of the Test Identification Parade (TIP), stating, “There was a 17-day delay between the petitioner’s arrest and the TIP, during which time the accused were paraded in open court.” He pointed out significant flaws indicating the identification could have been compromised.
The appeal has underscored concerns over the handling of key evidence, with allegations of tampering highlighted. For example, the blood samples taken from both the accused and the crime scene showed inconclusive results. Nayak remarked, “The recovery was based on a 'so-called confessional statement' by the petitioner, but key witnesses testified they had 'not actually seen the ornaments being seized from his residence.'”
Perhaps the most alarming aspect of Masthan's case involves the First Information Report (FIR), which set the legal proceedings against him in motion. Nayak noted, “The FIR... was found to have been tampered with -- its date overwritten, and its content altered,” raising serious questions about the integrity of the case against Masthan.
Both Carbo and Masthan's stories shed light on the startling reality of wrongful convictions. They raise broader concerns about flaws within the justice system, such as reliance on shaky evidence and the inherent challenges victims face when seeking justice. The convulsions of the legal apparatus reveal the struggles of innocent individuals ensnared within it, emphasizing the need for vigilance and reform to prevent such miscarriages of justice from continuing. The search for true justice remains at the forefront of these convoluted narratives.