New trial date set for man accused of killing Brooklyn college student

By Lori Chung  |

(NY1.com) – A man who spent more than a dozen years in prison for the slaying of a college student got a new trial date Tuesday.

“I find no reason to release the defendant, nor to grant bail in this case,” the judge said.

John Giuca was convicted of killing 19-year-old college student Mark Fisher back in 2003.

Giuca’s lawyers said prosecutors withheld evidence and relied on false testimony from a jailhouse informant, who later recanted.

Earlier this month, an appellate court granted the 33-year-old’s wish for a retrial.

But on Tuesday, a judge ruled that he must remain behind bars while awaiting a new trial, which is scheduled to begin May 1.

His mother and lawyer were disappointed by the ruling and plan to appeal.

“I’m looking for justice, and I just can’t seem to get it,” said Doreen Quinn Giuliano, Giuca’s mother. “We want fairness. We want the judge to do the right thing.”

“I don’t believe they have any chance on an appeal and I don’t believe they have any intent of ever retrying this case. It’s just a matter of time,” said Giuca’s laywer, Mark Bederow. “John’s going to walk out with us.”

Fisher was shot and killed in Prospect Park after a night of bar-hopping in Manhattan.

The next morning, he was found dead on the sidewalk, several blocks from Giuca’s family home.

 

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