Prosecutor’s review finds new suspects in 1996 double murder and no ties to 5 attempted murders

NEW YORK (AP) – For 16 years, the New York district attorney’s office has insisted it has the right man in the gruesome 1996 double murder. The office tried him five times, with a series of hung judges and dropped his charges, before he was acquitted and released in 2017.

On Monday, the current leader of this office, Westchester County District Attorney Mimi Rocah, said that the investigation has also identified two suspects and “no connection” to the man who was tried before him in the murder of Archie Harris, 79, and home health aide Betty Ramcharan, 35.

This statement appears to be the first time the DA’s office has come out publicly saying that he is guilty of anyone other than Selwyn Days, who was acquitted by a judge in 2017. At the time, prosecutors said they were disappointed with the decision.

Days’ attorney, Glenn Garber, said Monday that it was time for his client to testify.

“He’s absolutely innocent, and it’s important to put this case to rest,” Garber said, adding that the public also has a right to “close to this case that is fair and just.”

Rocah took office in 2021 and did not work in the DA’s office during the prosecution of Days. He did not provide information about the two people he described as “involved” in the murder, saying that the investigation is still ongoing.

His office said the development is so recent that there is still a lot of work to be done before any possible action. Rocah is running out of time to do that job – he is stepping down this week after deciding not to run for a second term.

“I hope these important events lead to further investigation and action to bring justice to the families of Mr. Harris and Ms. Ramcharan,” he said in a statement Monday.

Incoming DA Susan Cacace then promised to “continue to review cases like these double murders.” Both he and Rocah are Democrats.

Garber said he hopes that the Cacace administration will continue to “charge and punish those who did this” for the murder.

Harris, 79, was a recently widowed millionaire who was known in his neighborhood for boasting about keeping large sums of money in his Eastchester home – and was known to police through criminal complaints from his care assistants. He was accused of forcing one assistant – Days’ mother – to have sex, and pointing a gun at a second assistant.

However, it turns out that she left all her assets except $19,000 to Ramcharan, not providing for her three children. His share eventually went to his family, however, because Ramcharan died with him on November 21, 1996.

Five years later, authorities charged Days. He gave the police a video confession which his lawyers later denied was false and they were coerced.

“I didn’t commit this crime. I don’t know who did. … I don’t know anything about it,” Days told a judge in 2004.

Jurors in Hung completed the first and third trials of Days. His second and fourth convictions resulted in manslaughter convictions and 50-year prison terms. Both charges were dismissed.

By the time he got out of his fifth case, he had already served 16 years in prison.

Rocah established the Case Review Unit in 2021 to look into claims of wrongful convictions. The agency started investigating the case against Harris and Ramcharan last year.

No contact information was immediately available Monday for relatives of Ramcharan and Harris.