Left, George Carty enters the coutroom June 27. Home page, Carty, with attorney David Stefankiewicz/Photos by Susan Krysiak Avedissian

COURT HOUSE -- It’s not surprising that some persons who might know something about a murder that occurred in 1982 would be hard to find. They might have disappeared, forgotten what they once remembered, or died in the ensuing years.

These are unique challenges when you're defending a client accused of a murder that occurred 25 years ago, according to attorney Dave Stefankiewicz.

Stefankiewicz appeared June 27 before Superior Court Judge Raymond Batten with his client George Carty, III, who is accused of beating to death John Attenborough on July 27, 1982. Carty, 50, pled not guilty at his arraignment on first degree murder charges in the death of his former supervisor.

Stefankiewicz said he’s combed through the mountain of reports and evidence turned over so far by prosecutors and police and he has asked Judge Batten for investigatory assistance on the case from the Public Defender’s Office. Some police reports are practically illegible and some persons with information he’d like to speak with have died; nevertheless, he said, his client rejected several plea offers made by the prosecutor in the case.

He said he sees the state’s case hinging on a statement given by Carty to a West Virginia State trooper whom he said used “every psychological trick in the book;” Stefankiewicz said he has questions about what exactly Carty admitted to if anything in the statement.

“To say it’s incriminating is to ignore hours of denial,” he said.

Carty, a doctor, was arrested by police in December, 2007, at his home in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.

His wife, Cheryl, told reporters outside the courtroom her husband is innocent.

“George is not violent,” she said. “He sees the good in everyone.”

Attenborough, 57, was found dead on the morning of July 27, 1982 on the ground next to his vehicle in a housing area under construction at Tranquility Park located off of Route 109, in Lower Township. He was the obvious victim of blunt force trauma to his head, face and chest, according to prosecutors.

Attenborough had been employed as a chef at the Atlantic City Country Club and was last seen in North Wildwood earlier during the morning he was found.

As part of a continuing program in the Prosecutor’s office, cold cases are routinely reassigned to new detectives to provide a fresh look or perspective into the investigation.

For complete story, see next week’s Herald.
Contact Avedissian at (609) 886-8600 Ext 27 or at: savedissian@cmcherald.com