December 30, 2024
“An extensive and ongoing investigation undertaken by my Conviction Review Unit, following a request in 2023, has identified two individuals involved in the murders of Archie Harris and Betty Ramcharan and no connection to Selwyn Days, who was previously charged.
“As we undergo a change in administration at the DA’s Office this week, it is my hope that these significant developments lead to continuing investigation and action so that justice can be achieved for the families of Mr. Harris and Ms. Ramcharan.”
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Background: Mr. Days was acquitted by a Westchester County jury in 2017–the fifth time he was tried by the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office–for the killings of Harris, 79, and his home health aide Ramcharan, 35, in Harris’s Eastchester home in November 1996. Of the four earlier trials, two ended in hung juries and two resulted in the overturning of Days’ convictions for second-degree murder after an appellate court found significant legal errors.
Under DA Rocah, the Office’s investigation was led by the Criminal Investigators Squad’s dedicated CRU/Cold Case investigator, James Menton, a 30-year law enforcement veteran and decorated former NYPD detective, who served on the FBI Safe Streets Task Force.