Richard Lapointe Granted Bail After 26 Years in Jail for Manchester Murder

A man who was convicted for a 1987 murder in Manchester was granted bail after a judge ordered a new trial.

Richard Lapointe had been found guilty of murdering his ex-wife’s 88-year-old grandmother Bernice Martin, according to NBC Connecticut. She was found raped, stabbed and strangled in her burning Manchester apartment.

The state Supreme Court ordered a new trial after it was found that prosecutors in his 1992 trial failed to disclose that a detective didn’t disclose information supporting Lapointe’s alibi, according to the Hartford Courant.

Lapointe suffers from brain damage.

He was ordered released on a $250,000 security bond, of which 10 percent cash had to be posted. Lapointe will stay with a family in East Hartford for the time being.

He left court in a shirt that read, “I didn’t do it.”

The state Supreme Court also criticized Lapointe’s interrogation which led to a confession.

Prosecutors are considering options and whether they will pursue a retrial.

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