Final Appeal

[DarkDante]

I'll make no bones about it some of my favorite segments on "Unsolved Mysteries" deal with "Final Appeals" - These segments are very interesting because it calls upon us as viewers to question our own morals and beliefs. Most people are brought up to think the best of others, but in these cases the people who are profiled have been convicted of henious crimes and are serving either long prison sentences or are on death row as a result. Many have exhausted their appeals and turn to the viewing audiance in order to gain credence to their tales of innocence, some however may truly be imprisoned for crimes they did not commit. We have previously discussed the case of Jeffrey MacDonald and now I would like to bring up another case, one of which the question of guilt vs. innocence is in some folks mind blurred: - This is the case of Glen Consagra.

In 1978 Glen Consagra and two of his friends Freddie and Mary Lou were partying at a spoil bank (man made island) in Florida. That night Freddie and Mary Lou were brutally murdered by someone using not one but two different guns. According to Consagra while the murders were taking place he was sleeping/hiding behind an oil drum on the island and had no involvement whatsoever in his friends death. Consagra escaped the island that night unharmed and upon return to the mainland told a wild story claiming that Mary Lou and Freddie left the spoil bank to get beer and never returned even though he knew different. A short while later the dead bodies of Freddie and Mary Lou were found.

Police arrested Consagra and alleged he murdered his two friends because Freddie had defaulted on a car payment to Consagra and possibly because Freddie knew Glen was involved in a theft ring. They also say that Consagra was in posession of the exact same guns that were used in the murders.

When the trial date came around Consagra pleaded down to "second degree murder" of Freddie and no-contest in the death of Mary Lou. Consagra claimed he pleaded guilty only because the prosecution was holding the death penalty over his head if he was convicted. Consagra was sentenced to two life terms.

The question remains did Glen Consagra murder his two friends? - You decide here are some points brought out in the segment to help you out

- The Circumstantial Evidence against Consagra is strong. As far as anyone knows he was the only person besides the victims on the spoil bank that night. The spoil bank is located far away from land making the chance of a random killer showing up highly unlikely.

- According to the police Consagra had a motive to kill Freddie and was in posession of the types of weapons used in the crime. They also claim that Consagra was trying to find someone to come up with an alibi for him for the night of the murders.

- Many people on the mainland dispute the police's findings that two barrages of shots were fired (both guns were used to kill freddie and one gun was used to kill Mary Lou) and claim only one barrage of shots were fired.

- Consagra found a witness to challenge the prosecution's theory. Her name was Donna and she claimed that she and two of Consagra's friends one name Ted murdered Freddie and Mary Lou due to the theft ring. She claims that both she and Ted murdered Freddie and the other unknown killer murdered Mary Lou.

- The prosecution claims that Donna is a Schizophrenic liar citing the number of times Donna has changed her story (claiming the murders took place on a different island and claiming she was not involved at all) - However Donna had always mantained that Ted was INVOLVED in the murders.

- The mere fact that Donna is Schizophrenic should not disqualify her as a witness however what does cast doubt on her claims is the fact that if in fact Ted was such good friends with Consagra that Consagra would have noticed Ted's voice prior to the shooting of Freddie and Mary Lou as the three were arguing loudly.

- There is physical evidence to suggest Consagra's innocence. Consagra by himself would have been virutally unable to drag the dead bodies into the water along with an anchor and a heavy boat engine. There is also the question of the weapons used in the shooting, why would the killer use two different guns? - In addition if Consagra was indeed the killer why did he sink his own boat after the killing of his friends, leaving his only chance to make it back to shore being a dangerous swim? - This evidence leads some to believe that more people besides Consagra and the victims were on the island that evening

- The prosecution claim that Glen Consagra pleaded guilty because he knew he had no case is also somewhat laughable. Consagra was encouraged to plead guilty by his own attorneys. While the decision was ultimately Glen's it should be noted that his attorney's stated he had a "one in five chance" of winning the case. It should also be noted that Consagra was deathly afraid of being sent to the electric chair. Finally one statement the prosecutor makes about Glen's confession is inconsistant with the facts - The prosecutor interviewed in the segment states that Consagra knowingly pleaded guilty to two life terms when in fact Consagra thought he was pleaded only to a six month sentence. While it is easy for the prosecutor to say that pleading to two life sentences (which Consagra didn't know he was facing at the time the plea was made) should not be a decision taken lightly by anyone, I can't help but imagine if the shoe was on the other foot and the prosecutor was staring death in the eye if he (or many other) people wouldn't take the plea if only to save their life. That is a crapshoot in itself.

- Consagra's case has been reviewed and he has been denied a new trial on several occasions.

- I will offer another theory - If we believe the police that Freddie was going to inform on Consagra's theft ring that provides motive for both Consagra and "Ted" to want Freddie dead. It is possible that Consagra informed "Ted" that he & Freddie were going to be on the spoil bank that night with the only problem with this theory being that according to Consagra their original destination was "Honeymoon Island" and not the spoil bank where they ended up. It is however possible that "Ted" still managed to show up on the spoil bank along with the woman named Donna and the unknown man and they murdered Freddie and Mary Lou possibly in a loud arguement gone horribly wrong. It is possible that Consagra was not hiding behind the oil drum at all and perhaps witnessed or perhaps aided in this crime and helped the murderers cover it up. A deal is then struck possibly to clear all involved of the murder. Ted, Donna and the unknown friend will take the boat they came in back to land. Consagra is asked/told to swim back to shore to give them impression that he was stranded on the island alone. Upon returning to shore he would tell the police that he fell asleep on the spoil bank and when he awoke his boat was sunk, his campsite disturbed and his friends missing. No mention would be made of other individuals on the spoil bank that evening or the events that took place.

Unfortunatley once the bodies washed up "Ted" possibly in fear that somehow evidence (physical or otherwise) would show up implicating him in the murders decides to implicate Consagra in the crime telling police that Consagra wanted Freddie dead due to the information that Freddie had on the theft ring. This is bolstered by Donna's claim that the alleged arguement between "Ted" and Freddie was specifically about Freddie's inability to keep his mouth shut. By pointing the finger at Consagra who had already admitted he was on the island that night, "Ted" takes the spotlight off of himself, Donna and the unknown man and implicated one man, Glen Consagra in the murders of both victims.

It is also interesting to note that in her "confession" Donna tried her best to prove that other people were on the island that night and committed the murders but at the same time tried to downplay her own involvement in the killings claiming "Ted" forced the weapon used to kill Freddie into her hand and forced her to fire it showing that possibly that the above scenerio might be plausible and in fact what Donna was trying to do was clear Consagra but at the same time not implicate herself in the crime.

What do you think? - Is Glen Consagra guilty?

Later.

[SP4CE INV4DERZ]

I love final appeal cases too, you get to see both sides of the story. I like how you would be shown one version and you think "yeah that's how it happened" then shown the other side and you're left thinking "I'm not so sure now!". I'd like to believe Consogra is innocent but I really think that he is guilty. Whether he pulled it off himself I doubt. He is one of the people I'd really like to somehow meet and ask him "honestly, what really happened??". And also, seemingly he is in prison for the rest of his life, has been locked up for ~25 years by now, I mean he has repeated failed attempts to get paroled.. if he did have an accomplice why doesn't he tell the truth now about what really happened... although, I still believe he is guilty.

[justins5256]

Originally Posted by george ramos

He was sentenced to life without parole so he has never spoken to a parole board. I don't know whether he's still in prison. I would like to know whether his appeals ever succeded

My research has indicated there was an appeal to the Florida Supreme Court in 1980. It was denied. He's still in jail to my knowledge.

[george ramos]

The supreme court appeal was mentioned in this board long ago. That appeal was 25 years ago. I'm sure he didn't give up that easily. I wish the news would mention something new about this case.

[jcjh20]

With most Unsolved Mysteries segments, i usually side with either one person or party or the other depending on the story, but with this case i can't really say if i think this guy is guilty or innocent. If i really had to choose, i'd probably say he's guilty, but there's evidence that says he's innocent or that he at least had an accomplice, since it seems highly unlikely if not virtually impossible that he'd be able to pull this off alone.

[justins5256]

Originally Posted by DarkDante

What do you think? - Is Glen Consagra guilty?

Sorry to bring up an old post. I couldn't sleep so I watched this again for the millionth time. I also kept your scenario in mind. I think you pretty much hit the nail on the head. I actually found one more point to support your theory. Malden mentioned that the trio's original destination was Honeymoon Island but that a problem with the boat's engine caused them to end up on the spoilbank. I can't help but wonder if it was Glenn's "job" to make sure they ended up on the spoilbank in the first place. Two reasons for this: It is difficult to imagine Ted, or anyone else for that matter, just happening upon the group at the spoilbank. Two: I think we can safely assume that the spoilbank is a more secluded location and thus perfect for "roughing Freddie up" as they planned. There is no doubt in my mind that Consagra knew what was up. I also can't help but wonder if they were all hoping that the bodies wouldn't be found as quickly as they were. The discovery of the bodies tied to the engine and anchor FROM CONSAGRA'S BOAT shot some pretty big holes in Glenn's initial story (a story concocted prior to the killings, that when taken at face value clears him, Ted, and anyone else) and so Consagra's friends rolled on him.

If we take Consagra's claim of total innocence at face value, we can't satisfactorily explain why he felt a need to lie when he was initially questioned, and also, as the prosecutor suggested, why he didn't recognize his friend's voices when he awoke after falling asleep behind the bait tank.

On the flip side, if we assume that Consagra was the sole killer, it does not explain Donna's story, the use of the two guns with only one barrage of shots heard by witnesses, and the fact that the bodies were carried 30 feet into the water and dropped after being weighted with an anchor and the engine.

I'm absolutely convinced there were others involved. Consagra was involved. He was in a vulnerable position from day one because of the threatening statements that he most likely made prior to the murders, his obvious motives, and his ownership of the murder weapons. His claims of innocence were further compromised when it was revealed that his initial story was bogus. Obviously, his friends wanted no part in the affair, so they rolled on Consagra. Aside from Donna's testimony, there was no hardcore proof of anyone else's involvement, so Glenn did the only thing he could do in a situation where one is facing the certainty of a death penalty conviction - plead out to a lesser charge and save your ass.

As a side note, Malden never said that Consagra wasn't given a parole option along with his two consecutive life sentences. I would imagine the info someone posted awhile back about Consagra beined paroled in the early nineties was correct. I have yet to hear back from either of the parties I emailed, so I can't confirm this.

[robbieasbury]

I like the Final Appeal segments, helping people who are possibly innocent.

[justins5256]

Originally Posted by robbieasbury

I like the Final Appeal segments, helping people who are possibly innocent.

no doubt.

[skunk ape]

What was the final appeal with the slow kid? I think he was from Texas and was doing a 80 year sentence or was on death row. The details in my mind are sketchy.

[Kane]

Originally Posted by skunk ape

What was the final appeal with the slow kid? I think he was from Texas and was doing a 80 year sentence or was on death row. The details in my mind are sketchy.

If you happen to be referring to Johnny Lee Wilson, that was a Missouri case. He was sent to prison for the 1986 murder of an elderly woman (the victim's house was set on fire) but was pardoned and released in 1995. No one else was ever charged in the case, but another inmate had confessed to the crime.

[greatgarrett2]

Was that the case where the slow kid confessed.....and then the other inmate who really did the crime saw that the slow kid confessed and felt bad and then told the truth? I've seen that one a long time ago on NBC.

[Kane]

Originally Posted by greatgarrett2

Was that the case where the slow kid confessed.....and then the other inmate who really did the crime saw that the slow kid confessed and felt bad and then told the truth? I've seen that one a long time ago on NBC.

Yes, Johnny Lee Wilson (who was mentally challenged) confessed to murder, but falsely. But I don't remember if the other inmate confessed because he "felt bad." If anything, the inmate in question had details about Pauline Martz's murder that would have been known only by the killer and authorities. This included the claim that the man left behind a stun gun, and a stun gun was found at the crime scene.

[vixie328]

Originally Posted by justins5256

My research has indicated there was an appeal to the Florida Supreme Court in 1980. It was denied. He's still in jail to my knowledge.

Yes, he was released. I know this for fact because Glen Consagra was my great Uncle. I can tell you that he is no longer with us. I can tell you that he was innocent and was a devote Christian. He liked to do leather work and traced our ancestory. He was there for my high school graduation in 1996 and if I can get my hands on a scanner, I'll post the picture of him when he was here in Delaware.

I can tell you that my Uncle Sugie (my Momma's nickname for him because when she was little, he always called her sugar and momma couldn't say sugar at the time) was the most gentle man you could have ever met. He was the father that I never had at a time in my life when I needed him the most.

I thought of him out of the blue and decided to google his name and I came across this... I almost couldn't believe that somebody else out there thought about my Uncle Sugie.

We used to have a copy of this episode but it was lost... If anybody has a copy of this and wouldn't mind making me a copy, it would mean more than anything to be able to give it to my Momma for Mother's day. We miss him more than words can say. I only have the one picture of him and two leather bound bibles that he made the covers for to remember him by. Please, if you could get me a copy of this episode... it would mean so much to my Momma.

[robbieasbury]

It's nice to hear from someone who knew Glen Consogra. Your uncle's case greatly interested me. Was there ever any new evidence that fully exonerated your uncle of the murders? To my knowledge, I don't think there ever was an update to this case on Unsolved Mysteries.

[skunk ape]

Wow, this thread has started getting very interesting. I don't even believe that I have seen this Glen Consagra segment before.