http://www.buffalonews.com/home/story/345286.html

Donohue convicted of 1993 murder
Strangled housewife 15 years ago in her home
By Matt Gryta
Updated: 05/13/08 6:51 AM

Dennis P. Donohue, a former Buffalo bartender linked to the deaths of three women since the mid-1970s, was convicted late Monday evening of strangling Joan Giambra in the South Buffalo housewife’s own home 15 years ago.

After about six hours of deliberations following a two-week trial before Erie County Judge Sheila A. DiTullio, a jury of nine men and three women found Donohue, 55, guilty of one count of second-degree murder for the intentional killing of his paramour Sept. 9, 1993.

Jailed since his belated arrested last Sept. 17, Donohue, who did not testify or present any alibi witnesses, did not display any emotion as the verdict was announced at about 11:20 p. m.

Assistant District Attorney Frank A. Sedita III and prosecutor Kristen A. St. Mary said they will urge District Attorney Frank J. Clark to recommend the judge impose the maximum term of 25 years-to-life when Donohue is sentenced June 30.

As the verdict was announced, the victim’s three children hugged each other and about a dozen of their relatives and supporters who remained in the courtroom all day.

Joseph A. Agro, Donohue’s attorney, said the quickness of the verdict convinced him he was correct in seeking to have the trial moved out of Erie County to guaranteed Donohue a fair trial. Agro said there are “a lot of significant issues” upon which to appeal the verdict, including alleged news media coverage calling for Donohue’s conviction.

Moments after the verdict, Don Cormier, Giambra’s only son, and her two daughters, Jackie and Kathleen Giambra, called the guilty verdict the best Mother’s Day gift they and their mother could have hoped for.

Kathleen Giambra, who as an 11-year-old was found incoherent atop her mother’s naked corpse and who believes Donohue tried to strangle her as well, said she was glad “the man that did this is behind bars and he can’t hurt anyone else.”

The late-night verdict came after the jury had a readback of testimony about the DNA evidence linked to what forensic scientists determined was Donohue’s DNA under the fingernails of the 42-year-old victim.

Before Agro left the courtroom he said he is convinced that the jury “had its mind made up” before it heard any evidence at the trial based on all the negative publicity Donohue has been receiving over the past year.

Arrested and belatedly charged last September, Donohue was convicted of manually strangling the Hillside Avenue housewife early on Sept. 9, 1993 — his 41st birthday.

Donohue was living with relatives in Kenmore last September when members of the Giambra family urged the Buffalo Cold Case Squad to check into the possibility he was the killer.

sackett wrote on May 3^rd, 2008 at 6:15pm:


To the best of my knowledge, that is simply not true.  Moreover, I find it difficult to believe that you think it is true.

Do you have some source you could cite or link to provide that would back up your assertion that polygraphs are usually only used in criminal investigations after most leads have been exhausted?

Meangino,

then feel free to cut away at yourself next full moon...look down and slice...

If you want to discuss the truth of issues then feel free.  If you want to argue minor points that might only support your position, then find a stronger argument...

Sackett

That is usually when polygraph in criminal cases are administered; when most leads are exhausted.

I guess we could say that a full moon occured on the date of Donohue's test and that was the reason he falsely passed, too.  Based on your logic, if we go back and look, and a full moon existed, I would be right.

Sackett 

Don't you think they would have kept looking until all leads were exhausted? That is usually when polygraph in criminal cases are administered; when most leads are exhausted.  Therefore, it is reasonable to believe the police had absolutely nothing on Donohue when they gave him his test and even if he had failed and not admitted or confessed would be where they were at the end of his examination; with nothing.  Once again, polygraph is an investigative tool, not the end all to be all in any investigation.

You are now assuming, wrongly (I am sure), that just because Donohue took a polygraph and passed, that detectives in the case simply stopped looking for any evidence?  Failed to cross check DNA? Closed their files and put it in the unsolvable case file, all because he passed a polygraph... Not a very high opinion of police detective's, huh?

meangino wrote on May 2^nd, 2008 at 11:28pm:


There are several things you are clearly unfamiliar with regarding law enforcement.  First, if they had anything other than the polygraph to lock Donohue up for, they would have.  Secondly, and more subtle as Lethe would say, the second murder occurred 7 months after the first, then another.  They were never connected (at the time), therefore these would have been looked at separately as individual, non-related deaths and not the work of a serial killer.  Manpower and resources are scarce in most dept's and if the leads run cold, they usually move on to more "fresh" issues.

Unlike as suggested by George, there is no reason to believe that if Donohue had failed his examination on the first murder and provided no subsequent information  that the second and third murders would never have occured.  And certainly nothing is present to suggest his killing activity would have abated if he had been identified through the polygraph, but remained unproven and unarrested. Finally, serial killers generally get more brazen as they get away and over with their last murder.  So perhaps, we could argue that because he was deemed truthful in the first murder examination less people were actually killed as time went on.  I'm not suggesting that is factual, but it is a concept worth considering.

Finally, making assumptions about influences on the actions of a killer is dangerous.  George is attempting to make a connection where none exists.  Just because Donohue (wrongly) passed an examination on an initial murder in ABSOLUTELY NO WAY contributes to his actions months or years later.  To make that argument is dishonest and dissengenuous at best for the readers. 

Enough said.  If you can't grasp what I am saying by now, it is a lost effort by me.

Sackett

Sackett,

You seem to be saying that a polygraph given to a criminal suspect has absolutely no impact on the investigation regardless of the result.  Passing or failing means absolutely nothing and will have no effect on the direction of the investigation or the conclusions reached by the investigators.

That doesn't seem reasonable to me.  If they are going to bother to give a polygraph exam why would they completely ignore the results?

George W. Maschke wrote on May 2^nd, 2008 at 5:19pm:


It's no great stretch to suggest that had the authorities not given such weight to unscientific testing, such as the polygraph, Donohue might have been incarcerated and therefore unable to murder Giambra.

George,

you are really reaching for a connection and connecting dots which do not exist.   

While I believe anything is possible; so to with pigs, if only they had wings...

Sackett

Jim,
It's no great stretch to suggest that had Donohue known that he continued to be a suspect in an active murder investigation, he might not have taken the risk of killing Giambra.

Nice try!  It is exactly specualtion and rationalization on your part (without knowledge of all the case facts) to insist Donahue's passing a polygraph regarding the Girard case prevented his continuation as a suspect in the any other case.  I am not sure I must have missed where Donohue took a polygraph in the Giambra case.

Remember, polygraph is an investigative tool, NOT the end all to be all in investigations.  Does what you suggest occur?  Sure.  But if the DA or police had anything (at the time) concerning either case, they certainly would have considered it and probably discounted the polygraph results.  That happens all the time.  The police had nothing, so to suggest the polygraph results in one case presented itself as a wall for further consideration of involvement in that or any other case is rediculous.

At the time, there was no DNA.  So let's look at it from that time frame.  No evidence to suggest his involvement, no ability to pursue him.

OK george I get it.  False negatives occur.  If your purpose is to attack every infrequent case a polygraph is less than viable, then so be it.  But to attack the overall utility and accuracy because of a few select cases out of hundreds of thousands is a weak strategy.

Furthermore, there is no way to know if the victim Giambra would still be alive if the polygraph results pertaining to Girard were any different and to suggest so is disinformative and borderline insanity.  What you're suggesting is that had the results in the Girard case been different, Donohue would definitely not have committed any further murders?  You do not know that, neither does anyone else.  But, I guess it serves your purpose to connect dots that don't exist..