Expert: ‘No-body’ Branford murder case still ‘strong’

July 05--branford -- The murder charge lodged against Thomas Chester Malinka lacks one key element: a body.

According to police, John Francis Deveau last was seen the morning of May 26, 2013, pumping gas at a Stop & Shop station on North Main Street.

Despite Deveau's disappearance, police charged Malinka early last month with his murder. The 15-page arrest warrant weaves together accounts from a neighbor, a list of odd charges made to Deveau's American Express card, suspicious answers Malinka allegedly provided during questioning, a faulty alibi and, likely most damning, "red-like blood substances" police say were discovered inside Malinka's car featuring DNA that matches Deveau's.

"It's an incredibly strong case for the prosecution," said Tad DiBiase, a former federal prosecutor who in 2006 secured a conviction in the second-ever no-body murder trial in the history of Washington, D.C.

DiBiase said he's been interested in no-body cases ever since the 2006 trial, when he convinced a jury to convict the boyfriend of a woman whose body was never found with murder. DiBiase relied on forensics in that case. Police discovered a blood-soaked mattress in her bedroom. Despite not having samples of her DNA, DiBiase proved the blood was the victim's by using her mother's DNA. Mitochondrial DNA is passed down from mother to child.

Since 2006, DiBiase has spent time researching every no-body murder case in American history. He manages a website, www.nobodymurders.com, that includes a still-growing spreadsheet listing each case. DiBiase's research lists approximately 399 trials through April 5, 2014. The national conviction rate is 88 percent, with only 47 dismissals, mistrials, acquittals or reversals on appeal. Approximately 91 percent of the cases involve male defendants with 58 percent of the victims listed as being female.

DiBiase received a copy of Malinka's arrest warrant this week.

"When I got your call, I thought you were talking to me about a weak case," he told the Register. "This one isn't weak."

The arrest warrant states that Deveau actually contacted police weeks before his disappearance alleging that Malinka was illegally using his debit card. Malinka, at the time, was living at 33D Crouch Road, steps from Deveau's 33C address. According to police, Malinka was one of Deveau's tenants.

The officer who fielded Deveau's complaint never heard from him again. On May 29, Deveau's visiting nurse called police to report that he was not answering his front door. She called again two days later to report that Meals on Wheels had left him food that he had not picked up. She added that he was also not returning her phone calls.

Deveau, 61 at the time, had a history of medical issues. Police said the last phone call made from Deveau's phone was on May 25 to Wells Fargo Bank. On June 5, officers visited his house and discovered a locked door and a mailbox "full of mail."

The warrant states that they went next door and spoke to Malinka, who said the last time he saw Deveau was on May 27. Police discovered Malinka had a criminal history, having served eight years for dragging two women with his car during a purse-snatching attempt in New Britain.

Deveau's Crouch Road neighborhood, a cluster of small homes, is situated off of Route 146 near Haycock Point. The stream running behind the houses flows into the Branford River. One neighbor spoke to police, according to the warrant, and said he learned Malinka was trying to buy Deveau's property. The neighbor told police he saw Deveau and Malinka outside the house involved in an argument. He noted that was the last time he saw Deveau.

The neighbor also said that on May 26, he noticed Deveau's truck was missing. When it returned later that day, the neighbor noted that it parked straight-in. He told police Deveau always backed his truck into the space.

The neighbor called police June 10, after officers had towed away Malinka's Volkswagen Jetta after securing a search warrant, and said he saw Malinka carrying a bag and walking toward the creek. When Malinka returned from the creek the bag was gone, the neighbor noted.

DiBiase, after reviewing the warrant, said he rates the probability of a no-body murder conviction as he would the strength of a 3-legged stool.

"The three strongest legs involve forensics, a confession to family and a confession to police," DiBiase said. "And in this case, you've got at least two strong legs -- and a possible motive."

The forensic aspect of Malinka's arrest warrant was first gleaned from a toothbrush.

According to the warrant, investigators plucked Deveau's toothbrush from his bathroom. The bloodstains on the items pulled from Malinka's Jetta matched the DNA found on Deveau's toothbrush.

While executing the search warrant against Malinka, police discovered items inside his home that belonged to Deveau, including his prescription pills. Officers searching Malinka's Jetta discovered a debit card and a Kohl's credit card in Deveau's name that had been stashed inside the car's engine compartment.

Police also note in the warrant that during the search of Malinka's home, he continued to refer to Deveau in the past tense.

Malinka was arrested June 10, 2013, for burglary, larceny, possession of narcotics and use and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was not charged at that time with Deveau's murder.

According to police, Malinka's probation officer also stated that he was due back in court for using heroin, a violation of his drug treatment status.

DiBiase said the motive aspect of the case comes down to comments Malinka allegedly made to his probation officer. According to the warrant, Malinka reportedly asked her if it would "be OK if he got a life insurance police with (Deveau)."

"You also have him trying to get the victim to sell him the property," DiBiase noted, referring to the part of the warrant discussing the deal Malinka had tried to arrange with Deveau.

The "family confession" aspect of the case is not as clear, DiBiase said.

"But then there's the false alibi he gave to police," he added.

According to the warrant, Malinka told police he was in Bristol at a family gathering. Malinka's cellphone records, however, indicate that he was nowhere near Bristol and was instead in Willimantic County. By June 21, Malinka was back behind bars, awaiting trial for his burglary and drug charges. Police state in the warrant that authorities intercepted two emails he wrote to family members. In one letter to his sister, he wrote about how he believes police "think he had something to do with (Deveau), like throw him in the creek in back of the house."

In another letter to his mother, he claims he never harmed Deveau and then added, "Ma, I needed an alibai (sic) for Memorial Day so I told them I was with you and Tata (his father) all day, not alone."

Family members told police Malinka said he was at the family's campsite that day. On June 26, police combed the Highland Camp Ground in Scotland, Connecticut, but did not find Deveau.

When Malinka first was charged with burglarizing Deveau's home, police said he was not considered a suspect in the disappearance case. DiBiase said it is logical for police not to disclose such information to the media.

"He's already locked up and he's not going anywhere," DiBiase said about Malinka, referring to his incarceration status in late June 2013. "They can take all the time they need."

It took until March 12, 2014, for the DNA report to come back from the state's forensic laboratory.

"It should be noted that the same toothbrush was processed in a DNA profile and that toothbrush matched the DNA of blood found inside the trunk of Thomas Malinka's motor vehicle," the arrest warrant states.

"The evidence speaks for itself," DiBiase said. "When I first read Malinka's affidavit, I noticed that right away."

The success rate of prosecuting no-body murder cases may be 88 percent nationally, but Connecticut thus far has scored 100 percent.

The first case in state history in which an arrest was made prior to the discovery of a body occurred in March 1986, when 33-year-old John Pittman was accused of murdering his wife, who had disappeared in 1985. Her remains were discovered in New Haven'sMill River in April 1986. Pittman was found guilty in April 1987.

The Pittman case did not make DiBiase's list because a body was eventually found prior to trial.

There are five known cases in Connecticut in which authorities entered a murder charge and a trial began despite the absence of a body. Prosecutors managed to secure convictions in all five.

--The first case, the infamous "woodchipper murder" conviction from 1989, saw Richard Crafts of Newtown deemed guilty of killing his wife and running her remains through a woodchipper. Her body was never found but the prosecution team worked with forensics experts to determine that 3 ounces of hair, bone shards and a tooth, discovered along the Housatonic River, belonged to the victim. Crafts is serving a 50-year prison sentence.

--After Carla Almeida disappeared in 1988, prosecutors secured a murder conviction against Tevfik Sivri of Trumbull, largely based on blood stains and other forensic evidence. Her remains later were discovered in Monroe, after Sivri's conviction.

--Investigators determined that the body of Juan Disla, an accused Meriden drug dealer who disappeared in 2000, was disposed of through the use of powerful acid. Prosecutors secured convictions against four men, mostly because defendant Miguel Estrella was recorded describing the crime to a prison cellmate.

--In 2002, a judge sentenced Luis "The Boatman" Castelare to 20 years in prison for killing his ex-girlfriend nearly a decade prior. Castelare was only charged with the murder after walking into a Phoenix, Arizona, police station and confessing. Police reportedly turned him away on his first try. On his second try, he was placed under arrest. The victim's body has never been found. Castelare told police he dumped her body into Long Island Sound.

--Lastly, prosecutors in New London secured a murder conviction against George Leniart in 2010 -- a little more than 14 years after April Dawn Pennington was last seen in Montville. Leniart reportedly made incriminating statements to others, including another inmate.

Malinka's bail was lowered slightly to $950,000 Tuesday by a Superior Court judge.

Malinka told Judge Patrick J. Clifford that his bail of $1.1 million had prevented him from using the prison law library because he was restricted under the amount that exceeded $1 million.

Clifford agreed to set the total cash bail at $950,000: $900,000 for the murder case and $25,000 each on two other sets of charges, including burglary. Malinka remains in custody.

Malinka was represented in court by Jeffrey LaPierre, a public defender. LaPierre told Clifford that Malinka is poor enough to qualify for a public defender's services, so Clifford appointed the public defender's office to work on his behalf.

Representatives with the public defender's office could not be reached for comment.

Call Evan Lips at 203-789-5727. Have questions,feedback or ideas about our news coverage? Connect directly with the editors of the New Haven Register at AskTheRegister.com.

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