Background

State Attorney William Scheiner announced in open court July 7 that he has dropped a second-degree murder charge against Jeffrey C. Abramowski. The move spares Abramowski a retrial for a homicide for which a jury found him guilty in 2006 and a judge sentenced him to life in prison.

In April, the State Attorney’s Office supported a motion for a new trial for Abramowski, 64, due to recently discovered DNA evidence that was not available to the state, defense, or jury at the time of his original conviction. 

State Attorney Scheiner’s statement

“The State Attorney’s Office prosecuted Jeffrey Abramowski in good faith 19 years ago based on the best available DNA evidence and witness testimony.  Now, also in good faith, we are declining to retry Mr. Abramowski because of new DNA evidence, the loss of key witnesses, and an inability to re-test archived evidence for DNA using current techniques.”

“Our prosecutors’ mission from the start has been to achieve justice for survivors of the victim, Cortney Crandall. I know this outcome is frustrating for them, and I sympathize. However, the state cannot continue to prosecute Mr. Abramowski because we no longer can prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.”

“I want to thank the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office for its initial investigation into Mr. Crandall’s death and for its follow-up work with me to review evidence since a new trial was granted.”