CATSKILL — Opening statements began in the Greene County Courthouse on Monday in the murder trial of Carrie E. Weiser, who is accused of stabbing 68-year-old Scott Myers to death in 2021.
Weiser, 35, is charged with second-degree murder in connection with the stabbing death of 68-year-old Scott Myers, of Catskill, in his West Bridge Street apartment two days after Thanksgiving on Nov. 27, 2021. Weiser was also charged with criminal possession of a weapon, a misdemeanor.
She was indicted by a Greene County grand jury in December 2021 on the murder and weapons possession charges, after Weiser testified to the grand jury that Myers was not aggressive toward her, but that she had trouble remembering what happened.
Weiser pleaded not guilty to both charges at her arraignment in Greene County Court on Dec. 17, 2021.
Jury selection continues in 2021 Carrie Weiser Catskill murder case
Myers and Weiser dined together Nov. 26, 2021, at the West Bridge Street restaurant Subversive, a short distance from Myers’ apartment on the night he died, according to police.
The pair left the restaurant and walked back down the street to Myers’ apartment. What happened next is unclear, but Weiser is accused of stabbing Myers in the neck, severing his carotid artery. Police said Myers bled to death in a short time.
Weiser called 911 at roughly 12:15 a.m. on Nov. 27 to report the stabbing, and Weiser was found by police in Myers’ apartment when they arrived, police said.
Greene County Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Sandleitner, who is prosecuting the case, detailed the relationship between Weiser and Myers prior to his death in 2021.
“This is not a case of whodunnit,” Sandleitner said in her opening statement Monday. “Whodunnit is in the courtroom here today, and it’s the defendant, Carrie Weiser, and what she’s done is stabbed the victim Scott Myers on the left side of his neck, completely severing his carotid artery. The evidence will show that the defendant met the victim Scott Myers in 2018 when she moved up to Greene County from New Jersey. The two developed a close relationship around Nov. 24, 2021. The relationship then ended in two days, in Scott Myers’ death.”
Sandleitner also detailed in her opening statement the alleged events leading up to Myers’ death.
“She went to Scott’s (Myers) apartment, they discussed briefly what they wanted to do that evening, and they came to the decision that they were going to walk to a local brewery, Subversive,” she said. “They went to Subversive, they spent time there, about two hours conversing and having drinks, then they walked back down to Scotts (Myers) apartment at 39 W. Bridge St. at 8:43 p.m.”
While at Myers’ apartment, Weiser and Myers had more drinks and talked, Sandleitner said.
“They talked about topics of interest that include historical events, his (Scott Myers’) children, getting to know each other,” she said. “They talked about Governors Island, where the defendant’s father worked. Just after 11 o’clock the defendant brings up the topic of her interest, and that interest is stabbing another human, and then says ‘maybe I’ll stab you.’”
Video contents unlocked in homicide case
Danielle Neroni Reilly, one of the defense attorneys representing Weiser, objected to Sandleitner’s remarks, saying they were inaccurate.
Following a brief conference at the bench with the prosecution and defense attorneys for the case, Greene County Court Judge Charles Tailleur clarified to the jury the role of opening statements in the case.
“What any attorney says in an opening statement is not evidence,” he said.
Security cameras in Myers’ apartment captured the alleged incident, Sandleitner said.
“Ladies and gentleman, you will be able to see the last six hours of Scott Myers’ life, spent with the defendant,” Sandleitner said. “You will be able to see her go to his apartment at 5:20 p.m. You’ll be able to see them at Subversive, and then you’ll be able to see them come back to his apartment,” she said. “You will be able to see that all captured up until the defendant directs Scott Myers to turn them [video cameras] off, and then the next time you hear from the defendant is about an hour later, when she calls 911.”
Analysts from New York State Police spent over one year working to unlock contents of encrypted video footage seized from surveillance cameras in Myers’ apartment to help authorities piece together what happened the night of his death.
New evidence in Myers murder case
The videos were turned over to the State Police Major Computer Crime Unit for decryption in December 2021 after the security cameras were discovered in Myers’ apartment by investigators. The hard drives containing recordings from inside of the apartment were seized by State Police, and were password protected.
Greene County District Attorney Joseph Stanzione said last year one of the videos recorded the night of Myers’ death provided additional details about what occurred, but it was incomplete.
Neroni Reilly began the opening statements for the defense by telling the jury that the prosecution does not know what happened the night of Myers’ death.
“This was a rush to judgment,” she said. “On Nov. 26, 2021, you will see evidence that Carrie Weiser goes over to the apartment of Scott Myers, someone who is 36 years old, and as they’re talking, she says ‘you’re older than my dad’, ‘you’re older than my mom, you’re the old man’, ‘I’ll hang out with you, but I don’t have any interest in you.’”
Myers sought out Weiser, Neroni Reilly said during her opening statement.
“Ladies and gentlemen, Scott Myers preyed on her (Carrie Weiser),” Neroni Reilly said. “He picked her out, he drugged her, and he tried to rape her. You will see evidence that on Nov.7, 2021, Carrie Weiser called 911. When she calls 911 she is slurring, she can barely speak, she’s not making sense.”
Neroni Reilly said jurors will view evidence that Weiser was acting normally prior to going to Myers’ apartment.
“You will see on the video that when she (Weiser) comes back with Scott Myers’, she’s fine, she’s walking, she’s talking, not slurring and making sense,” she said. “And then she starts drinking the drink that Scott Myers provided. It is almost within minutes that now she’s slurring, she’s not making sense, she’s talking about her daddy, she’s talking about Governors Island, it is an instantaneous switch.”
The defense does not know how Myers’ death happened, Neroni Reilly said.
“This is not just a matter of whodunnit,” she said. “They don’t know, and they can’t prove it to you. On Nov. 27, 2021, Carrie Weiser called 911 with the front door open, and she sits and she waits, because she doesn’t know what happened, crying hysterically sitting. You’ll hear her on the 911 tape. This is a rush to judgment. Mere presence does not mean that Carrie Weiser killed that man.”
If convicted, the felony murder charge against Weiser carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. Weiser underwent a psychiatric examination by a court-appointed psychologist, requested by defense attorneys. The findings from the examination were not released.
