Long Island Man's Hopes For a New Trial Suddenly Dimmed
RIVERHEAD, N.Y. — There have always been questions surrounding a Long Island teenager's 1990 conviction for the murders of his wealthy parents. Many believe the killings were ordered by a shady business partner and that the couple's adopted son, Martin Tankleff, was tricked into implicating himself in a brutal crime he did not commit.But on Monday, the question marks associated with the Tankleff case were overshadowed, if only for an instant, by an exclamation point. A witness who was expected to implicate violent felons associated with the business partner instead invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
"I refuse to answer," Glenn Harris, a 35-year-old career burglar and drug addict, said each time defense lawyer Bruce Barket asked him a question.
Harris' change of heart was a devastating blow to efforts by Tankleff's many supporters —including all of the living siblings of the murder victims — to win his freedom.