The girlfriend of slain social justice activist Ryan Thoresen Carson has not chosen the stabbing suspect from a photo lineup with a legal expert, saying it could have “potentially devastating” results for the prosecution.
Carson’s friend Claudia Morales has been unable to identify Brian Dowling, the 18-year-old teenager who stabbed her boyfriend to death outside the B46 train in the early hours of Monday morning, which legal experts say could hinder the case. The Messenger reported.
Brooklyn prosecutor Jordan Rossman said during Dowling’s arraignment Thursday night in Brooklyn Criminal Court that Carson’s girlfriend, an eyewitness to the killing, “picked wrongly” his alleged killer when she was shown a group of photos , the New York Daily News reported.
Some of the photos were obtained from surveillance footage that captured the fatal stabbing.
Rossman said, “she chose a different person than the defendant from the photo lineup.”
Suspect Brian Dowling (18) is seen with a knife in his right hand as victim, Ryan Carson tries to defend himself as his horrified girlfriend, Claudia Morales stands nearby
Pictured: The couple attended a wedding hours before the fatal stabbing
Brian Dowling, 18, walked out of the 81st precinct Thursday afternoon looking tearful
Rossman said two other witnesses picked Dowling out of the photo lineup and investigators seized a knife and clothing matching what the attacker was wearing from Dowling’s home. The New York Post reported.
Dowling appeared in court Thursday night after being charged with first-degree murder shortly after he tearfully walked out of an NYPD precinct following his murder charge.
Several hours after his arrest, cops also seized a knife believed to have been used in the attack.
Dowling, still wearing the same white t-shirt he was arrested in, looked somber and tilted his head in the air as the prosecutor spoke during Thursday’s hearing.
At one point, he looked at his parents in the courtroom, who were tearful as they saw their son in custody before he was ordered held without bail by Judge Joshua Glick. His next court date is scheduled for October 11.
Former Manhattan prosecutor Mark Bederow, who is not involved in the case, said the girl’s inability to identify Dowling was “potentially devastating and crippling” to the prosecution’s case, but added that it “doesn’t mean that is not over Messenger reported.
He added: ‘It’s really too early to tell,’ said Bederow, who is now a defense attorney.
Bederow said there appears to be other evidence in the case that could mitigate any potential harm from the misidentification of the photo series.
“If they found a weapon at this guy’s apartment and it has the DNA of the victim, it’s compelling in the other direction,” he said.
Bederow also told the news outlet that means finding as many surveillance cameras as possible to trace Dowling’s movement scene and possibly using cell phone data to place him at the crime scene.
Julie Rendelman, a former Brooklyn prosecutor and now a defense attorney, said the failed photo lineup was “something the defense could use to raise possible reasonable doubt,” but noted that “the stabbing was caught on video and the defendant ‘s face is quite clear’. according to the news paper.
“It will likely be argued by the prosecution that the witness’ trauma from seeing her boyfriend being stabbed in front of her eyes affected her ability to identify the accused,” she said.
Dowling’s defense attorney, Kenneth Jamal Montgomery, said he agreed that the girl’s inability to identify his client could weaken the case against the teenager — and potentially prove valuable at trial, The Messenger reported.
Montgomery added: ‘However, I am waiting to review the discovery and all its context.’
Dowling allegedly stabbed Carson in the heart at 3:50 a.m. Monday in a brutal, unprovoked attack that erupted while he and his girlfriend were waiting for a bus after attending a wedding.
His first-degree murder charge could result in him being sentenced to up to life in prison without the possibility of parole, if convicted.
The prosecution argued during Thursday night’s hearing that Dowling stabbed Carson “without provocation,” and claimed that two witnesses identified Dowling as Carson’s killer from a photo lineup.
Kenneth Montgomery, the teenager’s defense lawyer, told the court it was the first time his client had been arrested.
“This is a difficult case for several reasons beyond the tragedy of loss of life,” Montgomery told Judge Joshua Glick. “You have an 18-year-old man – young man who has no criminal history.”
He asked the court to set a ‘serious bail’ because there was no risk of the teenager fleeing, saying: ‘His parents are here and I assure you there is no risk of fleeing, he is arrested at his home.’
However, the lawyer’s pleas for leniency failed to convince the court, as Judge Glick remanded Dowling ‘given the nature of the charges and the narrative given by the people’.
Ryan Thoresen Carson, 32, was an advocate for social justice and leftist causes
When police served a search warrant on his home, a sweatshirt was also seized along with the suspected murder weapon that matched the type worn by the suspect in the video of Carson’s murder.
Dowling’s home is a five-minute walk from where Carson, 32, was stabbed to death.
He has previously been described as ’emotionally and mentally disturbed’ but neighbors have reacted with surprise at the horrific charges, telling DailyMail.com he is the ‘sweetest little boy’ who is never normally in trouble.
‘He’s a nice guy. His family are good people … very respectful,’ added a family friend outside the home.
The teenager is understood to work at a school in Clinton Hill, and his alleged frivolous behavior also led to his own aunt reporting him to the police two months ago after he broke his girlfriend’s belongings in a fight has.
His alleged victim was an advocate for social justice and leftist causes, including spearheading an effort to implement drug injection sites across the city and was a passionate environmentalist.
Carson’s girlfriend, according to now-closed social media profiles, was an avid BLM activist who, among other comments, used the police-hating acronym ACAB in some posts.
Friends set up a GoFundMe account a day after the murder to help Carson’s girlfriend. They have raised $60,000 so far.
It remains unclear what prompted Dowling to attack. A suspect believed to be the 18-year-old was seen in the video walking past Carson and Morales before turning back.
Dressed in a suit, Carson was on his way home from a wedding – and his girlfriend Claudia posted an image of them smiling together during the nuptials hours before the tragedy.
Carson was filmed punching the attacker several times in the chest before the first stab.
At one point the suspect asks ‘What the hell are you looking at?’ before violently stabbing Carson in the chest. At the end of the video, his girlfriend could be heard screaming ‘Brian!’ when the attacker fled the scene.
The activist’s friends raised eyebrows on Wednesday after they claimed he would feel sorry for the teenager who allegedly stabbed him to death, and would want his killing used to promote left-wing policies.
“I know he would want people to use his death as a way to talk about structural flaws in the city,” New York State Assemblywoman Emily Gallagher told The Gothamist.
“I’m absolutely positive that he would immediately see that this is a person who is suffering from a lack of resources in our community, who probably needs better mental health support, possibly housing, possibly drug support, drug treatment.
“What he would want to avenge his death is for us to fix how broken this city is.”
Ricardo, a neighbor who lived on the block for 15 years, said he felt bad for the victim.
“He walked from Brooklyn to Buffalo for activism and to be treated like that doesn’t make sense,” he said. “You should be out in no time. They came from a wedding – you mustn’t harass anyone.’
‘I watched the video. The man fell you should have left him alone – right then and there.’
Ricardo, who has friends on the block, said Dowling’s family kept to themselves and called them hard-working people.
“It’s sad,” he said, shaking his head. “It’s a tragedy that just doesn’t make sense.”