May 30, 2008 12:08 am US/Eastern
Wrongly Accused Man In '06 Easter Killing Released
CBS 2 HD Cameras On Hand As Suspect Thought To Be Responsible For Murder Of 2-Year-Old Goes Free
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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David Pacheco's life ended after just 2 years. He was shot while sitting in his mother's minivan on Easter Sunday in 2006. The man many thought was responsible for his death was released on May 29, 2008.
CBS
A man wrongly convicted is finally free after new evidence shows he was not the gunman in one of the city's most heart-wrenching murders.
CBS 2 HD was there Thursday for his emotional release.
It was the moment Nicholas Morris waited more than two years for -- a taste of freedom, the hug of his mother and the cloud of suspicion finally removed.
"I'm just happy. I'm just happy," Morris told CBS 2 HD.
And from the beginning Morris said he was innocent. It was Easter Day in 2006 when 2-year-old David Pacheco was fatally shot in the chest while sitting in his mom's minivan, caught in gang crossfire. Morris was fingered by witnesses but denied ever being there.
"I did not shoot anybody ever in my life. I want somebody to hear my story," Morris said back in April of 2006.
But few did hear his story so he spent the next two years in jail. Then as the murder trial started last month prosecutors listened to Morris's lawyer make the case for mistaken identity.
"The shooter had tattoos on his arms," said Morris attorney Bruce Barket. "Nicholas didn't have and doesn't have tattoos. The person we believe committed the crime has tattoos."
So the Bronx district attorney re-opened the investigation, and discovered Morris wasn't the shooter and agreed to drop the case, saying, "We cannot meet our burden of proving a charge of murder beyond a reasonable doubt."
Morris' mother was overwhelmed by the dramatic turnaround.
"I'm very happy," Cynthia Morris said. "This is a moment I've been waiting for, really waiting for this moment."
The moment came, but only after Morris agreed to plead guilty to possession of a gun, a gun not used in the killing or even fired that day. Now he's free from his two years in hell.
"It's scary, it's scary and it's embarrassing because what I was in for, you know some people scream baby killer. It's just embarrassing. I'm happy, I'm happy justice was finally served," Morris said.
When Morris goes back to court in July, the murder charge will officially be dismissed. After that, he wants to finish college and work with children.
Morris' lawyer has given the district attorney the name of the man believed to be the real killer.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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