A jury on Friday convicted Brian Scott Lorenz, 56, in the 1993 murder of Deborah Meindl near Buffalo, New York, following his third trial in the case. The verdict concludes a decades-long legal battle that began with Lorenz’s original conviction in 1994 alongside James Pugh. Meindl, a 33-year-old nursing student and mother of two, was stabbed dozens of times and strangled inside her home in Tonawanda. Her body was discovered by her 10-year-old daughter.
The case has been marked by legal twists, including a 2023 court order for new trials after DNA testing failed to link Lorenz or Pugh to the crime scene, including a knife used in the attack. The judge also cited prosecutorial misconduct, noting that evidence favorable to the defense had been withheld. In December 2023, prosecutors dropped charges against Pugh, citing an inability to meet the burden of proof due to witness unavailability and inadmissible evidence from the original trial.
Lorenz’s second trial in 2023 ended in a mistrial after the jury deadlocked. However, prosecutors pursued a third trial, which concluded with his conviction on murder and burglary charges after a two-week proceeding. Lorenz’s defense team, which has long sought his exoneration, plans to appeal the decision. "It’s very, very scary," said Ilann M. Maazel, one of Lorenz’s attorneys, to The New York Times. "I think innocence should matter. I think the truth should matter."
Meindl’s family, including her sister and youngest daughter, attended the proceedings. After the verdict, they thanked Erie County District Attorney Michael J. Keane, who called the outcome "a testament to the persistence of truth."