Chicago City Wire

Defense attorneys for former Chicago detectives are challenging an affidavit filed by convicted murderer Nevest Coleman in his wrongful conviction lawsuit, calling it a “sham.” 

In a court brief filed last month, the defense argued that Coleman’s claims about recognizing two detectives during his interrogation contradict his earlier testimony. 

“It is undisputed that Coleman met with [retired Detectives Kenneth] Boudreau and [Jack] Halloran on his first visit to Area 1,” the defense response states. 

Chicago Police Department's jurisdiction is divided into Areas 1-5 and 25 sub districts.

“The gist of Coleman’s affidavit is that he knows Boudreau and Halloran were among the group of eight officers who crowded into the interview room later that night to intimidate and harass him, because he recognized them as the two detectives he spoke with during his first visit to Area 1. Though Coleman’s affidavit carefully avoids using the word ‘recognize,’ the only way he can say who was in the interview room is if he recognizes them, regardless of whether he remembers their names.

“This is where Coleman’s affidavit falls apart,” the response continues. 

The defense contends that Coleman’s affidavit contradicts his deposition testimony, where he stated he “knew the names Boudreau and Halloran, could not describe Boudreau or Halloran, could not recall any interaction with Boudreau or Halloran or what they did to him, and could not recall or describe the detectives who interviewed him during his first visit to Area 1.”

Additionally, the lawyers argued that Coleman “admitted that the detectives he spoke with during his first visit to Area 1—whom everyone agrees was Boudreau and Halloran—did not mistreat him ‘at all.’”

In 1997, Coleman and Darryl Fulton were convicted of the 1994 murder of Antwinicia Bridgeman, whose mutilated body was found in the basement of a South Side home that was occupied by members of Coleman’s family. 

Their convictions were vacated in 2017 by the now former Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, partly due to the absence of the suspects’ DNA at the crime scene. 

Coleman filed his wrongful conviction lawsuit in 2018, naming Boudreau, Halloran, other detectives, police officers, and prosecutors.

The exoneration has generated controversy, with Judicial Watch - a conservative organization that seeks accountability and integrity in law, politics and government - requesting that Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling reopen the investigation. 

In a July 31 letter to Snelling, Judicial Watch noted that the lack of DNA evidence does not prove innocence.

“More advanced DNA tests on samples not available at the time of the murder from Bridgeman's undergarments revealed semen from another individual, a serial rapist,” Judicial Watch wrote. “These tests became the basis for claiming the men had been coerced into confessing by Chicago detectives, who dismissed the tests as conclusive evidence of innocence and maintained that numerous possibilities could account for the DNA sample that did not vindicate the men.”

In addition to the DNA evidence, further concerns about the case arose from statements made by prosecutors involved in the original conviction.

"Another factor in the case is tied to statements top prosecutors working under Foxx made during depositions,” Judicial Watch wrote. “In those depositions, these prosecutors stated they believed Coleman and Fulton were guilty of the crimes and that detectives in the case committed no misconduct.” 

Judicial Watch told Chicago City Wire that it had not received a response to its request. The Chicago Police Department did not respond to a request for comment.