UPDATE: Frank Sedita, Erie County’s District Attorney, spoke with the media on Friday morning regarding the recent developments in the case against Patrick Kane.
In his conference, Sedita stated that the bag in question is, in fact, not a rape-kit evidence bag. The rape kit doesn’t require a bag, was never in a bag of any kind and hasn’t left the custody of the lab it is being stored in.
According to the District Attorney, the accuser’s mother was the one who left the Erie County Medical Center with the bag, and was the last person to be seen with it.
Sedita was clear that this was an “elaborate hoax” by the victim’s mother, and the actions would not come down on the daughter. However, the office will look into whether the accuser played any role in the bag situation.
This is a developing story…
ORIGINAL: Just one day after holding a press conference to make a public claim of evidence tampering in the rape investigation against Patrick Kane, the attorney of the alleged victim has stepped down from his position, effectively immediately.
In a media briefing on Thursday night, Thomas J. Eoannou revealed that he was dropping the accuser as a client due to what he claims to be “misrepresentations” of the evidence bag that appeared at the doorstep of the mother. Eoannou added that though there is “no question” that the bag is the real evidence bag from the case, he no longer has confidence in the way the bag was found. Because of that, he cited an “ethical obligation” to remove himself from the case.
He was certain to say that the accuser was not part of the evidence bag development, it was the mother that found the bag and reported it.
Though this is yet another mark on what has been a messy case to begin with, the case is far from being closed. All this means is that the evidence doesn’t appear to have been tampered with as the accusations made on Wednesday suggested.
In response to the latest developments, Kane’s attorney Paul Cambria said that he believes this leads to the thought that the entire case has been fabricated against his client.
“It’s obvious to me that Eoannou dropped out of the case because he was lied to by his client’s family,” he said during a conference of his own on Thursday night. “They fabricated evidence. I told you yesterday that this whole thing was a hoax, and now it is obvious.”
The investigation will continue regarding the rape accusation made against Kane. Erie County District Attorney Frank A. Sedita III will speak with the media on Friday morning about the latest developments in the investigation.
In a statement released late Thursday night, the family of the accuser said that they will not give up on getting justice.
“We have every intention of pursuing this case to a just conclusion,” they said.