Alternate Suspects in "Lulu" Courshesne's Murder

[TheCars1986]

I've been thinking about the Rick McCue final appeal case recently, and did some digging on the web. There were previous threads that said McCue was arrested and convicted of rape in 2003, and that he was involved in numerous construction scams since he was released from prison. I started to wonder whether or not there was a ton of evidence left out of the UM segment that would leave no doubt as to whether or not McCue was guilty of Lulu's murder. Interestingly, there was no "smoking gun" brought out at his trial other than the fact that he was the only known person to be with her while she was last seen alive. Here are some other interesting tidbits I found from one of his appeals:

-Lulu's neighbor (who was interviewed for UM) said she had seen Russell Healy leave Lulu's apartment around 1:30 a.m. on the night of Lulu's murder. She did not testify at his trial about her witnessing Lulu return home with McCue, go back to McCue's truck to get her purse, and then hearing her stumble around in her apartment. Why she didn't bring this up at the trial, I don't know.

-On the morning after Lulu's murder, McCue was eating breakfast with his friends and he told them he "wouldn't be seeing her [Lulu] anymore." The jury took this to mean that he knew she was dead, and that this was well before her body was discovered.

-Lulu's body was found off of a dirt path in a wooded area behind a department store. Shortly after her body was found (but before police had secured the crime scene) a man pulled up in a Ford Bronco, and backed up six feet away from Lulu's body. He got out of the vehicle, and went to the back of the Bronco, who was then yelled at by the police officer at the scene to stay away from the body. The man immediately got into his Bronco and fled the area. The officer knew this guy from previous encounters, and he was arrested quickly after. The guy's name was Barry Lazaro. Here's more:

"Asked to explain his presence at the crime scene, Mr. Lazaro claimed that he had been eating a Burger King dinner in his vehicle at the parking lot and had needed to go to the bathroom. He said he drove 250 yards down a dirt road behind Rich's Department Store allegedly to find a private spot to do so. Despite the earlier urgency, however, Mr. Lazaro did not use the bathroom at any time during several hours of confinement and interrogation at the Rochester police station. The police were nevertheless satisfied with Mr. Lazaro's answers and released him. At trial, Mr. Lazaro's girl friend, Connie Lynn Osborne, testified that on the night of the murder she and Barry Lazaro were together from about 9:00 p.m. onward. They arrived at Ms. Osborne's house at about 11:30 p.m. and spent the night there."

If he was in a Burger King parking lot eating, why did he not feel the need to go inside the restaurant and use their bathroom? Why travel 250 yards away (if he needed to go that bad)? It was shortly after Lazaro's arrest that police had found out McCue was last seen with Lulu and Lazaro was quickly forgotten about and the investigation shifted to McCue.

-Also worth noting about Lazaro: "The defendant testified at trial that when he returned to the 202 Quickie [convenience store where Lulu worked] around midnight, he encountered Ms. Courchesne and a man, whom he later claimed was Barry Lazaro, having an argument. This identification was later contradicted by Veronica Cormier, who was in the convenience store at the time."

-Russell Healy claims that Lulu cut her legs shaving shortly before going out with McCue for the evening. The autopsy revealed no cuts or abrasions to her legs. There was a bloody towel found in Lulu's closet after her murder. This is the towel Healy claimed Lulu used to stop the bleeding after she cut her legs.

-McCue's story remained consistent under repeated interrogations with police. The only change in his story was he first told them that he and Lulu had sex in his truck, and then changed it to a small bedroom in the apartment. He says he did this because he didn't want the owner of the apartment to find out he had sex in her child's bedroom. But after confessing to her (the owner), she encouraged him to tell the police the truth, so he did.

-McCue's tires were 23" wider than the tire impressions found at the scene. Police said that the impressions were "approximate", but the defense's tire expert said that 23" was too much of a difference that they would have to be excluded from the ones that made the imprints. Barry Lazaro's tires were also examined and determined to have a 19" discrepancy. But Russell Healy's tires were only 4" in difference from the ones left at the scene. The defense expert said that because the measurements were "approximate", 4" would not be enough to exclude Healy's tires from the ones being made at the scene.

-Whoever dumped Lulu's body, dumped it in a muddy area. There were several drag marks around the area, indicating that whoever put her body there traversed through grass and mud and gravel (in addition to water puddles around the scene). McCue was found sleeping in the living room by his friends the morning after, and they said that neither his pants or his boots (the ones he was wearing the prior evening) had anything on them, and were clean.

-Lulu's landlord was instructed not to go into her apartment after her body was found. He later admitted he did and his reasoning was to remove a gun that belonged to Russell Healy's brother.

-Another man named William Pelley (nicknamed "Budweiser") was at the bar with McCue and Lulu on the night of her murder. Apparently, neither Pelley or Healy had an alibi for the night of Lulu's murder after 1:00 a.m. And Pelley also was one of the last men to have been seen with Lulu, since he was involved in the bar hopping with McCue and her.

"William Pelley and Russell Healy, both of whom knew the victim and were seen with her shortly before her death, made several conflicting statements about their whereabouts and activities on October 17, 1987. Mr. Healy testified that on Saturday, October 17, 1987, he met Mr. Pelley at 5:30 p.m. Yet, Mr. Pelley testified that he drove around drinking with Mr. Healy starting at 11:00 a.m. Mr. Pelley also stated that their first trip to 20 Academy Street [Lulu's apartment] was at 12:30 p.m. for the purpose of obtaining drugs. Mr. Healy, however, claimed that they first went to 20 Academy Street at 8:30 p.m. Mr. Pelley stated that the two went to 20 Academy Street at least four times that day, whereas Mr. Healy said they only went twice. On the Saturday in question, Mr. Healy said he went to his home alone and used cocaine intravenously. Mr. Pelley, however, said he was with Mr. Healy all day and the pair went to Healy's house twice for the purpose of ingesting cocaine.

Finally, Jean Eisenstat, who lived at 16 Academy Street, testified that on October 17, 1987, she saw Mr. Healy come out of 20 Academy Street at 11:30 p.m. and get into his truck, where Mr. Pelley was waiting. Ms. Eisenstat further stated that she saw Mr. Healy leaving the building again at 1:30 a.m. Mr. Healy testified that he left the victim's apartment for the last time at 11:30 p.m. and that he circled town for a short period of time before he went home."

-Lulu was killed approximately between 2:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. according to the autopsy. Lulu's youngest daughter was questioned by the detective on the case and said this: "According to Detective Pease, Christine said she awoke again at 6:00 a.m. on the 18th when she heard someone banging on the shower walls and a voice that sounded like Mr. Healy say, "Where's my pants?" She said also that she observed a man, who looked like Russell Healy, in the doorway of her bedroom. Christine also told Detective Pease that on October 18th she discovered a pool of blood in the shower stall and blood on her mother's bicycle seat located in the front hall of 20 Academy Street. The police investigated the premises at 20 Academy Street on Friday, October 23, 1987, however, and found no blood stains."

Obviously, Russell Healy would have no business taking a shower in Lulu's apartment at 6:00 in the morning if he had nothing to do with her murder. Russell Healy and Rick McCue looked nothing alike. Lulu's daughter could have been mistaken about seeing Healy, but she could not have confused him for McCue. Obviously, whoever she heard in the bathroom and saw in the doorway would have to be her mother's killer.

-Another witness observed a dark pickup truck with a light top near the spot where Lulu's body would eventually be found. He couldn't positively ID the truck as the one McCue was driving (his boss owned the truck), and at the time there were several ladders and construction staging obscuring the top part of the truck. The witness made no mention of seeing ladders on the the truck he saw, therefore it couldn't have been McCue's truck.

-The police failed to search Lulu's apartment until five days after her body was found. Russell Healy would stop by her apartment 4-5 times a day before her murder. He had access to her apartment, and obviously had plenty of time to clean up any evidence left behind in the apartment.

-Russell Healy was overheard by Lulu's neighbor threatening to kill her if she ever ratted him out to the police (probably for his cocaine use).

-There was absolutely no evidence that McCue was involved in a struggle (whoever killed Lulu would have had some signs, since it was believed Lulu fought for her life) and McCue's pickup truck did not have any evidence of mud or blood.

-A boot print found at the scene where Lulu's body was found did not match McCue, according to the defense expert at his trial.

"He also testified about the footwear impressions, noting several inconsistencies between the full footwear impression and the defendant's boot. He compared the photographs from the scene where the body was found to the defendant's test imprint and observed that the defendant's boot was longer, wider and of a different shape. He also noted that the imprint at the scene had a sharp curve at the leading edge of the heel, which was not present on the defendant's boot. The defendant's boot had sharp, well-defined edges and there were none, according to Mr. McDonald, comparable to the imprint left at the scene. Mr. McDonald also examined the photographs of the partial footwear impression and found that impression to be inconsistent with the defendant's boot. On the basis of these and other inconsistencies, Mr. McDonald positively eliminated the defendant's boot as the source of the impression at the area where Ms. Courchesne's body was found."

-One damning piece of evidence against McCue was the fact that there was a large puddle of antifreeze found a short distance away from where Lulu's body was found. The owner of the truck testified that there was a mechanical problem with the truck and that every time you accelerated the truck quickly, the radiator would leak large amounts of antifreeze.

-Even though the defense tire expert had said that his findings were based on "faulty information" due to the police not being able to get an exact measurement on the tire wheelbase, he still said that 23" would be too big of a difference for the imprints to have come from McCue's truck.

-The judges who affirmed his conviction (the first time) said this about Lazaro: "The defendant attempts to point the finger toward two other witnesses for the murder of Ms. Courchesne. The defendant first claims that Mr. Lazaro could have been the murderer, since he pulled up behind the body shortly after the police had arrived. It was proved at trial, however, that Mr. Lazaro's vehicle had a smaller wheelbase." Funny how they say Lazaro's tire prints were proven to have been smaller, because his measurements were a 19" difference, but McCue's (who were even more of a difference at 23") were not proven conclusively to have been ruled out. This makes no sense.

-The dissenting judge in McCue's failed appeal, had this to say: "Considering the evidence presented at trial, one might reasonably conclude that Richard McCue, more likely than not, was responsible for the death of Alene Courchesne. But, as previously noted, the State must prove the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Further, in cases such as this, where the State's evidence that the defendant committed the murder is entirely circumstantial, such evidence "must be viewed with caution and weighed with scrupulous circumspection," and must be "well connected and exclude every reasonable hypothesis except the guilt of the defendant...."

I have no idea how this jury ever convicted McCue. Even without Lulu's neighbor testifying at his trial (about seeing Lulu exit McCue's truck and McCue driving off like she did on UM), there was ZERO evidence that tied him to the murder. Not to mention the fact that three other men (Pelley, Healy, and Lazaro) all knew Lulu, and all had some interactions with her shortly before her murder. Only Lazaro had an alibi, although it was provided by his girlfriend at the time. Healy and Pelley did not have alibis for the timeframe of Lulu's death.

[TracyLynnS]

That's a lot of very interesting information on those alternate suspects.

It seems like they each have even more suspicious things that point to them than the 'evidence' that was used to convict McCue. And a lot of that info seems to point away from McCue: the vehicle wheel base, the boot print, the lack of wounds/dirt, etc.

[WishfulDreamer]

Wow, great post, TheCars!

I believe the woman who was interviewed on UM about watching Lulu stumble back to the truck while being dropped off did not testify because of health problems, unless I'm confusing her for the other eyewitness. I will try to hunt down this segment for a rewatch.

I always thought Russel Healy seemed like the most plausible suspect here. He lied about the razor and her shaving her legs, seemingly as an excuse for the bloody towel. Why do that unless he's covering for himself or another person who committed the crime? Lulu's daughter, who knew him, recognized his voice and him being in the shower at six a.m., which he would have no reason to be doing if he was not up to no good. And if he left behind blood in the shower, it was very likely from cleaning up after the murder had taken place. I was not aware she had seen him in the doorway; that's pretty damning. I wonder if Russel committed the crime with one of the other alternate suspects? I'm trying to figure out who he would have asked to pass him his pants, since Lulu would already have been dead by this point. But the crime couldn't have taken place in the apartment, or at least that seems highly unlikely. Lulu fought for her life and a murder like that would no doubt have been very loud and have attracted attention. Could Russell have gone back to clean himself up? Remove any evidence of any violence that may have happened at the apartment before the murder? After Lulu was dropped off by McCue, I wonder if there could have been an altercation between her and Healy and he forced her out of the building. This could possibly explain why there was blood in the foyer of the apartment complex and on the bicycle seat; he could have attacked her upon her return home and used the towel to wipe up a bit of the blood.

I know Healy's wife claims that because he didn't confess before dying he was innocent, but I think most of us would agree that proves nothing. I wonder if he killed Lulu for cheating on her fiance(his brother) or had another reason to be angry with her. Perhaps he himself was jealous? He did drop by quite often. I'd like to know more about the kind of relationship they had.

The information you've provided about the alternative suspects is also fascinating. My bet is on Healy, but I do wonder if he didn't act alone.

EDIT: Mistakenly recalled Lulu as being stabbed, when she was strangled. I think the blood could have come from an altercation with Healy after she was dropped off. Anyone know if Lulu had any wounds or abrasions not on her legs?

[TheCars1986]

Also found an article written after McCue was set free, and the defense brought a pathologist to testify who said that Lulu's death could have been even longer than the time frame of 2:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. And there was a man who testified that said Lulu's landlord had hired him the day after her body was discovered to clean up muddy footprints in the hallway. This makes me wonder if the landlord was involved with the murder? He admitted to going back to the scene, but claimed it was to get a gun that belonged to Russell Healy's brother. And he also had someone clean up the scene that had potential incriminating evidence. He could have been trying to cover for someone, possibly Russell Healy. And, again here's something even more incriminating:

"Ms. Jacques also testified that on October 18, 1987, at approximately 9:00 a.m., several hours before Morgan Edgerly or the Rochester police had discovered the body, her landlord, Philip Koenig, told her that the victim's body had been found in back of Rich's Department Store. Mr. Koenig, however, denied that he had had such a conversation.

Mr. Koenig testified that on Monday, October 19, 1987, he went to the Rochester police station and told Officer Moore that he would keep the victim's apartment secured. Mr. Koenig admitted later that he had broken his word by entering the victim's apartment for the purpose of removing a gun belonging to Darren Healy, Russell Healy's brother."

Why on Earth was the landlord not looked at more as a suspect in this case?! He not only went into her apartment (after promising police that he would keep the scene secured) after her murder, he also had someone clean up the scene, and also had told people the location of where Lulu's body was going to be found 7-8 hours before it's discovery!

With regards to other injuries on Lulu, here's what the coroner observed:

"In addition to examining Ms. Courchesne's body to determine the cause of her death, which he declared to be asphyxiation by strangulation, Dr. Fossum also recorded all other non-fatal injuries to her body. Ms. Courchesne sustained contusions and abrasions to her head and neck area and a laceration over her right eye. In Dr. Fossum's opinion a blunt force trauma, such as a blow from a fist or the back of a hand, caused both the contusions and the laceration, which Dr. Fossum testified would cause a substantial trickle of blood. Apart from the injuries to her head and neck, Dr. Fossum found an abrasion on her left shin, which he stated was post-mortem and likely the result of someone's mishandling her body."

The eyewitness who claims to have seen the truck near the dump site claims to have seen it at 2:30 a.m. But immediately after McCue and Lulu left the apartment together, McCue's friend placed a call to where she worked and the call was logged at 2:42 a.m. That should be enough of an alibi to establish that the truck seen by the witness was not McCue's.

I am leaning towards the landlord having something to do with Lulu's death. Even though Healy knew about the bloody towel, Lulu's neighbor testified that she last saw Healy leave the apartment at 1:30 a.m., while Lulu was still with McCue. And, as Healy's wife had said, he was asked point blank by her if he ha anything to do with Lulu's death (on his deathbed) and he said no. This case just got waaaay more confusing and convoluted.