(MA) Harvard student accused of murder

[lapidator]

This is interesting...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A23105-2003Apr14.html

Harvard Student Pleads Innocent to Murder


By MARTIN FINUCANE
The Associated Press
Monday, April 14, 2003; 12:00 PM


CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - A Harvard graduate student pleaded innocent Monday to murder in connection with the weekend stabbing death of an 18-year-old hotel worker.

Alexander Pring-Wilson admits he stabbed Michael Colono early Saturday after an argument but says he acted in self-defense, said his lawyer, Jeffrey Denner.

Pring-Wilson, 25, of Colorado Springs, Colo., was held without bail until a hearing on Friday.

Prosecutors said Colono was sitting with a man and a woman in a car outside the pizza shop at about 1:45 a.m. when he exchanged words with Pring-Wilson. The two began fighting after Colono got out of the car and Pring-Wilson allegedly stabbed Colono five times.

Denner said Pring-Wilson and a group of friends had gone to a nearby nightclub, and Pring-Wilson was walking home alone when he encountered Colono.

Denner said Pring-Wilson didn't start the fight and was being attacked by Colono and another man, not just by Colono as police alleged. Denner said his client pulled a pocket knife to get them to back off because "he was getting beaten very badly."

About 20 of Colono's family members, including his parents, four siblings and his girlfriend attended the court hearing.

A brother, Marcos Colono, said of Pring-Wilson: "Everybody's talking about Harvard and all his accomplishments. ... Human nature will tell you smart people still do stupid things."

Pring-Wilson is a graduate of Colorado College who is studying at Harvard's Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies.

Pring-Wilson's mother, Cindy Pring, a former assistant district attorney now retired from private practice, also was in court Monday. She said her son was never in trouble with the law.

 

[lapidator]

And this...

http://www2.bostonherald.com/news/local_regional/camb04142003.htm

Slain teen's brother: Suspect just `Harvard thug'

by Jessica Heslam
Monday, April 14, 2003

The Harvard graduate student charged with the brutal stabbing death of a Cambridge teen opened the victim's car door and dared him to ``step outside and say it to his face'' before their argument turned physical, the slain boy's brother said yesterday.


``People want to know why a Harvard student would do such a thing. He was drunk, carrying a knife and arguing with people on the street. To me, he was nothing but a Harvard thug,'' Marcos Colono said of the man charged in the murder of his baby brother, 18-year-old Michael Colono.

Alexander Pring-Wilson, whose mother is a former prosecutor and whose father is a criminal defense attorney, claims he stabbed Colono in self-defense after being attacked, according to his lawyer.

Pring-Wilson, 25, crossed paths with the teen dad about 1:45 a.m. Saturday as he walked home from a club and Colono sat in a car outside a Western Avenue pizzeria. Colono's cousin and his cousin's girlfriend, whom relatives would not name, were also in the car.

``Words were exchanged. It was a verbal altercation before it turned physical, but Michael didn't get out of the car while they were (verbally) arguing,'' the brother said.

``There are witnesses who saw Alex Pring-Wilson in his drunken rage walk up to the car door, open the car door and asked Michael Colono to step outside and say it to his face,'' said Colono.

Colono, whose daughter turned 3 yesterday, got out of the car and a street fight erupted. Witnesses allegedly told Marcos Colono that Pring-Wilson was ``noticeably drunk'' and ``angry.''

Pring-Wilson claims he acted in self-defense when he plunged his pocket-knife into Colono's chest four times, his attorney, Jeffrey Denner, said. Denner said Pring-Wilson was taunted before being attacked by ``several'' people.

``I don't know, maybe they didn't like the way he looked. He's a Harvard student. He was wearing flip flops and shuffling along,'' said Denner, who denied his client opened the car door or challenged Colono to step out.

``He's a hick kid from Colorado,'' added Denner, who said Pring-Wilson had had some drinks that night but was ``fine.''

On Saturday, Middlesex County District Attorney Martha Coakley said it was Pring-Wilson who approached the Chevy outside the Pizza Ring.

After being stabbed, Colono got back into the car, gasping for air as his friends got lost on the way to the hospital. They eventually flagged down a cop for help. Colono died a short time later.

``His last words were, `I'm here. I'm here.' He was breathing hard and couldn't talk. He had blood on his hands,'' said his tearful girlfriend, Cindy Guzman, 19, also the mother of his daughter.

``He was a real sweet guy,'' she said. ``We were going to move in together.''

Called ``Mizz'' by his pals, Colono, the youngest of five children, worked as a cook at the Day's Inn in Brighton to help support his family. He left Cambridge Rindge and Latin school, later earning his GED, to work, his 25-year-old brother said.

``Michael was a beautiful person. I was extremely happy to have a little brother like him,'' he said.

Pring-Wilson was a second year student at Harvard's Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies.

Pring-Wilson will be arraigned today in Cambridge District Court.

 

[Marko Kloos]

A brother, Marcos Colono, said of Pring-Wilson: "Everybody's talking about Harvard and all his accomplishments. ... Human nature will tell you smart people still do stupid things."

Yeah, like your brother who used a set of fists in a knife fight...

Readily jumping into a fight is always a bad idea. You never know what your opponent may have in his waistband or pocket, and it's much harder to plead total innocence if you didn't do everything humanly possible to avoid confrontation.

 

[lapidator]

One piece of info not in either story was that after the fight, the deceased got back into the car and took off with his friends. He died because, "they got lost on route to the hospital" according to a radio news story this morning.

edit: never mind... this is in the 2nd story.

 

[El Tejon]

lend, how is that possible. I thought one could always spring into action like Batman? You mean to tell me that fighting leads to Problem #2? This can't be. I'm shocked.

As well, I thought one could say "self-defense" and magically be out of trouble???

 

[.45TCB]

Waiting for a response like this from the VPC:

[sarcasm]

This incident shows the urgent need for additional knife control laws. We have an epidemic of knife violence in this country. In this case the suspect used a so-called 'pocket knife' to commit the crime. These small, easily concealable weapons are the knife of choice for criminals and have no sporting purpose. The VPC supports legislation banning these extremely sharp weapons. In addition, we support registration of so-called 'tactical folding' knives, which are also the weapon of chioce for criminals and should only be available to highly trained members of the military and police. Of course, the deadliest knives are 'assault knives', which may have blades up to twelve inches long and are outfitted with military features such as lanyard rings and compasses in the handle. These are also the weapon of choice of criminals.

[/sarcasm]

 

[Jeff White]

This incident shows the urgent need for additional knife control laws. We have an epidemic of knife violence in this country. In this case the suspect used a so-called 'pocket knife' to commit the crime. These small, easily concealable weapons are the knife of choice for criminals and have no sporting purpose. The VPC supports legislation banning these extremely sharp weapons. In addition, we support registration of so-called 'tactical folding' knives, which are also the weapon of chioce for criminals and should only be available to highly trained members of the military and police. Of course, the deadliest knives are 'assault knives', which may have blades up to twelve inches long and are outfitted with military features such as lanyard rings and compasses in the handle. These are also the weapon of choice of criminals.

Don't be too sarcastic...that's coming, just as soon as they outlaw firearms. Don't believe me, look at what's happening in the UK. Remember there are no bad people, just bad objects


Jeff