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The Case of Brian Parnell

📻 Episode #262
🎙️ Hosted by Maggie Freleng
📅 May 23, 2022

◆ EPISODE PROFILE

About This Episode

On August 28, 1997, Brian was staying overnight at his girlfriend’s house with his cousin, girlfriend, and girlfriend’s sister in West Philadelphia, PA. 45 minutes away, restaurant owner Gus Boulias was killed in his home. A detective, relying on the questionable analysis of a partial fingerprint, decided that Brian was the killer. Even though the…

The Case

On August 28, 1997, Brian was staying overnight at his girlfriend’s house with his cousin, girlfriend, and girlfriend’s sister in West Philadelphia, PA. 45 minutes away, restaurant owner Gus Boulias was killed in his home. A detective, relying on the questionable analysis of a partial fingerprint, decided that Brian was the killer. Even though the state presented no murder weapon, no witnesses, no motive, and no connection to the victim, Brian was convicted of second-degree murder and burglary and sentenced to life in prison. Maggie speaks to Brian Parnell at SCI Coal Township in PA., Marc Howard J.D., Brian's advocate and Tamara Parnell, Brian's sister.

This episode features a portion of #156 Wrongful Conviction: Junk Science - Fingerprint Evidence with host Josh Dubin released on September 9th, 2020.

For more on the junk science of Fingerprint Analysis, click the link below:

https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/156-wrongful-conviction-junk-science-fingerprint-evidence/

https://www.justiceforbrianparnell.com/ https://twitter.com/justice4parnell https://www.instagram.com/justiceforbrianparnell/ https://www.facebook.com/justiceforbrianparnell

​​We have worked hard to ensure that all facts reported in this show are accurate. The views and opinions expressed by the individuals featured in this show are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Lava for Good.

In Their Own Words — transcript excerpts

Short excerpts from the episode's official published transcript, with timestamps — listen from these moments, or read the full transcript via the podcast's own platforms.

00:03:50
“Speaker 5: they went through, they never reflected that on us. They Speaker 5: made sure we were in, you know, a part of Speaker 5: each other's lives. Because my two younger sisters they have Speaker 5: a different mother than I do. They made sure we Speaker 5: all knew who we are. You know each other and”
00:14:23
“Speaker 1: system at the time of the murder. He was actually Speaker 1: arrested in the past on an unrelated minor charge. Yet Speaker 1: when they searched for matching prints. Brian's did not come Speaker 1: up as a candidate or match, But despite that, Brian Speaker 1: was arrested for the murder.”
00:24:02
“Speaker 4: his files and Affidavid's, the whole everything. She had crime Speaker 4: scene pictures, everything, and she really studied the case a Speaker 4: lot more than any family member. Yeah, it's like, how Speaker 4: do you help parents wrap their mind or adjust to Speaker 4: the fact that their child has been incarcerated wrongfully, let alone,”

Listen to the Episode

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← #261 Clay Chabot #263 Robert Foxworth →

Also on the podcast: #31 Brian Ferguson · #252 Allan Woodhouse and Brian Anderson · #343 Brian Neirynck