April 24, 2009:
Syracuse (WSYR-TV) - It's a story that not only riveted many of us here in central New York, but has also captured the attention of the nation. ABC aired a special two-hour 20/20 special Friday night on the Stacey Castor trial, including exclusive interviews with Stacey Castor, her daughters, and several other key players in the trial. Castor will likely spend the rest of her life in prison for killing her second husband and trying to kill her daughter. But in an excerpt that did not air during the show, Castor talks about the effect the trial has had on her family. Castor has maintained her innocence right from the day of her arrest, and she has never wavered from it, even after a jury found her guilty. "I was in shock. I couldn't believe that, you know ... I had been found guilty. We had been preparing for the fact that that could happen,” Castor told ABC News’ David Muir. “From day one we've talked about it, and ... just hearing it, knowing that that had happened, was kind of unbelievable.” To many, what was unbelievable, especially during the trial, was the relationship between a mother and her two daughters, destroyed by an unthinkable crime. Two young women who live now without a father, and a mother in prison likely for the rest of her life. "Ashley brought this on, you know,” Castor said of her eldest daughter. “Ashley ... regardless of ... what anybody thinks or feels, I know the truth, she knows the truth. Bree, I do feel for Bree, and the fact that she didn't ask for any part of this, and she is another one of those innocent victims." Almost as matter-of-factly, Castor reflects on what's left now from all of this. "I still have my mom and my step-dad, some other relatives that support me. I lost my daughters. I lost my husbands, you know. My freedom," Castor said. Castor's two daughters said after the conviction they only wished to have heard their mother say, “I'm sorry.” We've yet to hear that. Castor is still facing charges in Cayuga County for the death of her first husband, Michael Wallace. Those charges could be coming in the next few weeks.
Castor refuses to admit any guilt in deaths of husbands
Syracuse (WSYR-TV) - It has been almost two months since Stacey Castor was sent off to prison, for what will likely be the rest of her life. It appears that has done little to change her mind about her guilt.
Castor will be the subject of a two hour special on ABC’s 20/20 tonight. Castor was convicted of killing her second husband, David Castor, trying to kill her daughter, then forging a suicide note to pin the deaths of both of her husbands on her daughter. Castor still refuses to admit any guilt. With a jam-packed courtroom, many eyes were focused on Stacey Castor. Hers, however, were closed as the verdicts were read -- guilty on every count. "It can't be happening, it’s got to be wrong, that's what I was thinking," Castor told ABC News’ David Muir. Right from the beginning, Castor has said she was innocent. Not only did she say she didn't do it, Castor blamed her eldest daughter Ashley for it all. In a rare moment of emotion during an interview with ABC’s 20/20 before the trial, Castor wondered if she would ever speak with her two daughters ever again. "And I worry about, you know, if they're okay, and if they're safe, and what they're doing, and all of the mom stuff," said Castor. Ashley Wallace, Castor’s daughter, told Muir, "I would have done anything for her. But she tried to kill me instead." And the jury agreed, leaving two young women already without a dad, suspected of being Castor's first victim -- and now basically without a mom. "It was sad to see her leave like that. But I didn't feel bad for her because I was happy that they said she was guilty, because we all know that she's guilty," said Ashley’s sister, Bree Wallace.
But not Stacey Castor, who not only refuses to admit guilt, but also to show any remorse. "I would never say I did something I didn't do. I will maintain my innocence until the day that I die. I did not kill Michael Wallace. I did not kill David Castor. And I did not try to kill my daughter, period. And I will never say that I did. Ever," Castor said. When asked if her oldest daughter was the killer, as Castor claimed before and throughout the trial, she seemed to back off directly pointing the finger at Ashley, claiming now she couldn't say who was the killer.
April 23, 2009:
Castor reappears in court
Syracuse (WSYR-TV) – Stacey Castor was back in the same court where she was convicted and sentenced to prison for what will likely be the rest of her life.
Castor is now facing possible charges in Cayuga County for killing her first husband at their Weedsport home.
She sat quietly as lawyers argued whether the grand jury transcript of her first murder trial case could be unsealed for use by prosecutors in Cayuga County for its case against her in the death of Michael Wallace.
The Cayuga County District Attorney is asking for the grand jury minutes of her murder case. Onondaga County Court Judge Joseph Fahey has reserved decision on the matter.
Castor was sentenced to over 50 years in prison earlier this year after being convicted of killing her second husband David Castor, and trying to murder her daughter Ashley.
Test results showed Wallace had anti freeze and rat poison in his system when he died.
The District Attorney in Cayuga County is investigating Castor, to see if she also poisoned and killed Wallace.
Fitzpatrick reacts to ABC News interview
Castor will be the subject of a two hour ABC 20/20 special Friday night. 24 hours before the special was set to air, District Attorney Bill Fitzpatrick sat down with NewsChannel 9 to reflect on one of his most high profiles cases ever. From the beginning, Fitzpatrick and Stacey Castor have had very different views of this case, and in the weeks since her conviction, very little has changed. We played pieces of the ABC News exclusive interview with David Muir for DA Fitzpatrick. Stacey Castor told Muir, "I didn't do it, so why would I believe it? You know. If I had had a fair trial from the beginning we probably wouldn't be sitting in this particular place having this interview." When asked to respond, Fitzpatrick said “She's a cold customer." It was Fitzpatrick’s first chance to watch parts of the never before seen jailhouse interview with Stacey Castor after her conviction. "I was in shock, I couldn't believe that you know,” Castor said in the interview with ABC. Fitzpatrick responded to the clip, saying, “she knows as well as I know, I'm sitting here talking to you that she killed her two husbands, she's just getting better at denying it, that's all." Despite holding tight to her innocence from the very beginning, Castor admits in the post conviction interview to preparing for the possibility she would be found guilty. Bill Fitzpatrick says it’s not what he’s been hearing since before the trial started. "I've been listening to her phone calls for quite a while, including her jail calls for well over a year and she was absolutely convinced she was going to be acquitted,” Fitzpatrick said. “This is all made up that we were preparing from jump street for the conviction. Her and her boyfriend were planning on going away and trips and everything like that." Stacey Castor maintains that her daughter Ashley “brought this on." Stacey Castor is serving her prison term at the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility in Westchester County, but is being allowed to stay at the Onondaga County Justice Center while Judge Fahey decides on Cayuga County's request for the grand jury minutes from her murder case. Friday night 20/20 will air their special "Black Widow: The Stacey Castor Trial." ABC News' David Muir sits down in an exclusive interview with Stacey Castor. You'll also see interviews with lawyers, doctors, detectives and family who were all a part of the case. Coverage begins at 9 pm right here on NewsChannel 9.
Stacey Castor reflects on murder conviction; relationship with daughters
Syracuse, New York (WSYR-TV/ABC News) - For the first time since her murder conviction, Stacey Castor is talking about her experiences in court, her relationship with her daughters, and her new life in prison. In February, an Onondaga County Jury found Stacey guilty of killing her second husband, and attempting to murder her daughter Ashley. Throughout the trial, Stacey claimed that Ashley killed both her first and second husband, and attempted to commit suicide. ABC News’ David Muir spoke exclusively with Castor prior to the trial, and after her conviction, for a 20/20 Primetime special. In her interview with Muir, Castor continues to show no remorse for what she did, and continues to blame her daughter for the deaths of the two men. “It was hard,” Castor said. “I hadn’t seen Ashley in a year-and-a-half, and I was kind of a little in shock that she was the first person on the stand. And for her to sit and say things she said wasn’t easy, it wasn’t easy at all.” “Every day of my life, I wonder how she did it,” said Ashley Wallace. “I wonder how you try to kill your own child. Because I know how much I love my sister. And I could never hurt her like that. I don’t understand how you can try to kill your own daughter.” It’s a question that may never be answered. The relationship between Stacey and Ashley dissolved months ago into almost nothing. And when given the chance at sentencing to try and repair it, Stacey sat expressionless and quiet. “I was really honestly hoping that she would just apologize. She didn’t have to say anything else except for three words: I am sorry,” said Ashley’s other daughter Bree. “I did not kill Michael Wallace,” Stacey said. “I did not kill David Castor. And I did not try to kill my daughter, period. And I will never say that I did. Ever.” Stacey Castor will be back in Onondaga County Court Thursday morning as lawyers decide how to proceed in the case of the death of her first husband, Michael Wallace. You can watch the entire 20/20 Primetime special, “The Black Widow,” on NewsChannel 9 from 9 PM – 11 PM Friday night. To see more on the interview, click here: http://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=7380832&page=1
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