At about 7:30 p.m. on December 9, 1987, a 33-year-old nursing student, identified as R.K., left a night class at Elms College in Chicopee, Massachusetts, and walked to her car parked on Springfield Avenue. As she opened the car door, a man rushed up and pushed her into the vehicle. He held a knife to her throat and forced her to perform oral sex. He ejaculated on her clothing.
R.K. said the man left while his pants were still hallway down. The entire incident lasted about 20 minutes.
The victim ran to a nearby convent on the campus. The door was opened by a nun, who called the campus police. R.K. described her attacker as a Hispanic man, about 5 feet 11 inches tall, wearing a black coat and black pants with black driving gloves. Police broadcast the description over the police radio.
At about 8:15 p.m., two officers were driving on Stonina Drive in Chicopee, about four blocks from where the assault occurred. They reported that they saw a man standing in the road with his pants open and down about his knees, adjusting his shirt.
The officers went to question him and, during that time, they heard over the radio the description of the assailant wanted in connection with the assault on R.K. Noticing that the man fit the general description of the assailant, the police asked him if he would go to the scene for an identification procedure. He agreed to go..
The officers drove the man to the convent, where he stood on the porch while R.K. viewed him through the glass and screen front doors of the convent. She stood behind two police officers and viewed him from a distance of about 10 to 12 feet, looking between the shoulders of the police and peering through a curtain.
R.K. said he looked like her assailant, but she couldn't be sure. She then asked the man to speak. Upon hearing his voice, she identified him as her assailant. The victim then asked to see his gloves to be sure. They were passed through the door and shown to the victim. She then said that she was certain that man was her assailant. No knife was recovered.
R.K. was taken to a hospital, where a rape kit was taken.
Police arrested the man and charged him as 22-year-old Angel Hernandez, although his real name was Edwardo Velasquez. He was charged with two counts each of aggravated rape, indecent assault and battery, assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon, and assault and battery.
Velasquez went to trial in Hampden County Superior Court in August 1988. On August 30, a mistrial was declared after the jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict.
Velasquez went to trial a second time in November 1988. R.K. identified him as her attacker. Velasquez’s defense attorney, Timothy Mannion, noted during the cross-examination that she had never mentioned that Velasquez had facial hair or that he was wearing a jacket with a fur collar.
A forensic analyst testified that the rape contained spermatozoa, which was tested for blood type and PGM enzymes. The analyst said that Velazquez’s blood type and PGM type were present and that 11 percent of the Hispanic population shared this blood and PGM type.
The analyst also testified that he found a dark black pubic hair unlike those of the victim, but “within the range of the... submitted known pubic hairs” of Velasquez. Another pubic hair was found on the victim’s slip that was “within the range” of Velasquez’s hair.
Velasquez testified and denied committing the crime. He said that he was in the area because he had given two friends, Marcos Ortiz and Pedro Madera, a ride to Chicopee. He said that after dropping them off, he hung out outside a housing project waiting for them. He said he snorted heroin as he waited.
“I had nothing to do with this,” Velasquez told the jury. He denied that his pants were down. He said he was merely tucking in his shirt when the police approached.
On November 23, 1988, the jury convicted him of all the charges after about four hours of deliberation. On November 30, at his sentencing hearing, Mannion said Velasquez “still maintains his innocence.” He said that Valesquez “truly believes he is an innocent man.” Judge John Murphy sentenced Velasquez to 12 to 18 years in prison.
In August 1991, the Massachusetts Appeals Court upheld the conviction and sentence.
In December 1991, Velasquez filed a motion seeking DNA testing. The motion was denied in February 1992. He filed a motion for a new trial in April 1993. That motion was denied in 1994.
In 1995, Velasquez filed another motion for a new trial. In October 1995, a judge allowed him to obtain a new lawyer.
Velasquez also reached out to the Innocence Project for help in obtaining DNA testing. In February 1998, the Innocence Project began investigating his case. Subsequently, the Innocence Project and Sam Silverman, Velasquez’s attorney, filed a motion to gain access to the evidence for DNA testing. Ultimately a number of lawyers, including those with the New England Innocence Project, worked on the case on behalf of Velasquez.
In 2001, the evidence was sent to Forensic Science Associates (FSA), a California DNA laboratory. In August 2001, FSA reported that the tests excluded Velasquez as the perpetrator.
On Aug. 15, 2001, the Hampden County District Attorney’s office asked a judge to vacate the convictions. The motion was granted, the prosecution dismissed the case, and Velasquez was released.
In 2003, Velasquez filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Chicopee and several police officers. In 2005, he was awarded $500,000 in compensation from the state of Massachusetts. In that same year, he settled the federal lawsuit for $2.45 million.
– Maurice Possley
Posting Date: 08-29-2011
Last Update Date: 03-09-2026
