Brian Scott Lorenz’s conviction marks the end of a long-running legal fight over the 1993 killing of Deborah Meindl near Buffalo, a case that has produced multiple trials and repeated rulings over evidence. A jury on Friday convicted Lorenz, 56, on murder and burglary charges, ending his third trial after decades of litigation, the Associated Press reported.
Lorenz’s case began with an original conviction in 1994, when prosecutors said he and his co-defendant, James Pugh, murdered Meindl. Meindl, a 33-year-old nursing student and mother of two, was stabbed dozens of times and strangled inside her home in Tonawanda, according to the account described by AP. Her body was found by her 10-year-old daughter.
Both Lorenz and Pugh denied involvement. Over time, the case became defined as much by disputes over scientific evidence and disclosure as by testimony, AP reported. In 2023, a judge ordered new trials for both men after new testing did not find their DNA at the crime scene, including on a knife used in the attack. The judge also said prosecutors withheld some evidence that could have helped the defense.
After a second trial of Lorenz last year ended in a mistrial when the jury deadlocked, prosecutors continued to pursue charges against him, AP said. Friday’s verdict came after a two-week trial.
The litigation also changed course for Pugh. In December, prosecutors dropped their efforts to retry Pugh just as a new trial was set to begin, and AP reported that prosecutors said they could no longer meet the burden of proof. Prosecutors cited “our inability to present the same evidence deemed admissible in the original trial and the unavailability of critical witnesses more than 30 years later.”
Lorenz’s attorneys, who have worked to exonerate him for years, said they planned to appeal. One of his lawyers, Ilann M. Maazel, told The New York Times it was “very, very scary,” and argued that “innocence should matter” and “the truth should matter,” AP reported.
Meindl’s family attended the proceedings on Friday, including her sister and her youngest daughter, according to AP. After the verdict, they thanked Erie County District Attorney Michael J. Keane. Keane, in a statement, said the outcome was “not just a legal victory,” describing it as a testament to the persistence of truth and the “unwavering commitment” of public servants pursuing justice.
Police had investigated Lorenz and Pugh on a theory that they killed Meindl during a home burglary. Lorenz and Pugh were charged after Lorenz, then under arrest for another crime in Iowa, confessed to murdering Meindl and implicated Pugh, AP reported. Lorenz later said the confession was false.