And then, within a few news cycles, the police arrested poor Sleeping Beauty. The prosecution’s case was strong. The papers started calling her the Sleeping Beauty Killer and, eventually, Crazy Casey. According to most theories, she’d flown into a drunken, jealous rage when Hunter broke off the engagement.
Now she was in a conference room with Laurie, claiming still-after all these years-to be innocent.
Laurie was aware of the seconds ticking away before she’d need to speak to her boss. Normally, she would have wanted to walk methodically through Casey’s side of the story, but she needed to cut to the chase.
“I’m sorry to be blunt, Casey, but the evidence against you would be hard to set aside.”
Even though Casey denied ever having fired the handgun that was determined to be the murder weapon, her fingerprints were found on the gun. And her hands tested positive for the presence of gunshot residue. Laurie asked her if she was denying those facts.
“I assume the tests were done correctly, but all that means is that the real killer pressed my hand to the weapon and let off a shot. Think about it: Why would I have said I never fired the gun if I had shot Hunter with it? I could have easily explained my prints by saying I fired it at the range. Not to mention, whoever shot Hunter apparently missed twice, based on the bullet holes found at the house. I was a very good shot. If I had wanted to kill someone-which I never would-trust me, I would not have missed. And if I had fired his gun, why would I consent to GSR, gunshot residue, testing?”
“What about the drugs the police found in your purse?”
Casey described her illness that night as so severe that the police had tested her blood for intoxicants. But by the time the results confirmed that she had both alcohol and a type of sedative in her system, a search of Hunter’s home had turned up that very same drug in Casey’s own evening bag.
“Again, if I went through all the trouble of drugging myself, why would I keep three extra Rohypnol tablets in my own purse? It was one thing to accuse me of being a murderer, but I never thought anyone would believe I’d be that stupid.”
Laurie was aware of Rohypnol, a drug commonly used in date rapes.
So far, what Casey was saying was all a rehash of the arguments that her lawyer tried to raise at the trial. She was claiming that someone drugged her at the gala, went back to Hunter’s house, shot him, and then framed her while she was sleeping. The jury hadn’t bought it.
“I followed your trial at the time,” Laurie said. “Forgive me for saying this, but I think one of the problems was that your lawyer never seemed to suggest a concrete alternative explanation. She hinted that police may have planted evidence, but never really explained a motive for them to do so. And most importantly, she never gave the jury an alternative suspect. So tell me, Casey: If you didn’t kill Hunter, who did?”
5
“I’ve had a long time to think about who might have killed Hunter,” Casey said as she handed Laurie a sheet of paper with five names on it. “I don’t think it was a random break-in or failed robbery while I was knocked out on the couch.”
“I wouldn’t have thought so either,” Laurie agreed.
“But when I found out there was a sedative in my system, I realized that whoever killed Hunter must have been at Cipriani for the Raleigh Foundation gala that night. I felt fine earlier in the day. It wasn’t until an hour or so into the event that I began to feel sick. Someone must have slipped the drug into my drink when I wasn’t looking, which means they had to have access. I can’t imagine anyone wanting to hurt Hunter, but I know it wasn’t me. These people all arguably had motive and opportunity.”
Laurie recognized three of the five names, but they were all a surprise to her as possible suspects. “Jason Gardner and Gabrielle Lawson were at the gala?”
Jason Gardner was Casey’s ex-boyfriend and the author of a tell-all memoir that ingrained the nickname Crazy Casey into the cultural lexicon. Laurie couldn’t recall all the details about Gabrielle Lawson’s connection, but the woman was one of the city’s famed socialites. As Laurie recalled, there was tabloid chatter that Hunter was purportedly still interested in her, despite his engagement to Casey. Laurie hadn’t realized that either Jason or Gabrielle had been at Cipriani the night of the murder.
“Yes. Gabrielle always seemed to turn up wherever Hunter went. I remember her coming over to our table and throwing her arms around him in typical fashion. She could easily have slipped something into my drink. And Jason-well, supposedly he was there to fill one of the seats at his employer’s corporate table, but it seemed far too coincidental for me. Sure enough, he pulled me aside at one point and told me he still loved me. I of course told him that he needed to move on. I was marrying Hunter. So both of them were clearly jealous of what Hunter and I had together,” Casey argued.
“Jealous enough to kill?”
“If a jury believed it about me, I don’t see why it couldn’t be true about one of them.”
The third familiar name on the list was especially shocking. “Andrew Raleigh?” Laurie said, arching an eyebrow. Andrew was Hunter’s younger brother. “You can’t be serious.”
“Look, I don’t enjoy accusing anyone. But like you said, if I didn’t do it-and I know I didn’t-someone else did. And Andrew was drinking a lot that night.”
“As were you,” Laurie added, “according to many witnesses.”
“No, that’s not true. I had a glass of wine, two at most, but stopped when I began feeling ill. When Andrew drinks, it’s… well, he becomes a different person. Hunter’s father never made it a secret that he loved Hunter more than Andrew. I know the man has an outstanding reputation, but he could be cruel as a parent. Andrew was incredibly jealous of Hunter.”
It sounded like a stretch to Laurie. “What about these other two names: Mark Templeton and Mary Jane Finder?” Neither rang a bell.
“Those take a little more explanation. Mark, in addition to being one of Hunter’s closest friends, was also the chief financial officer of the Raleigh Foundation. And, if you ask me, he’s the most likely suspect.”
“Even though he and Hunter were friends?”
“Hear me out. Hunter hadn’t said anything publicly, but he was preparing to run for elected office, either as the New York City mayor or potentially for a seat in the U.S. Senate. Either way, he was determined to shift from the private sector to public service.”
He may not have declared his political intentions, but the public certainly had speculated. Hunter was a regular on the lists of the country’s most eligible bachelors. When he suddenly announced his engagement to a woman he’d been dating less than a year, many wondered if it was the first step toward becoming a candidate. Others viewed Casey as a risky choice for a political wife. The Raleigh family was well known for its conservative views, while Casey was an outspoken liberal. They were a political odd couple.
“In advance of any political race,” Casey explained, “Hunter had been inspecting the foundation’s books to be absolutely certain that there were no donations or fundraising practices that could prove embarrassing or controversial under public scrutiny. The night of the gala his chauffeur drove him down from Connecticut, and they picked me up at my apartment. In the car he mentioned that he was going to hire a forensic accountant to conduct a more thorough investigation because of what he called some ‘irregularities.’ Hunter quickly assured me that he was being abundantly cautious and was certain there was nothing to worry about. I never thought about it again until four years after I was convicted, when Mark suddenly resigned without notice.”