Written By Frankziska Kaltenbach
September 5, 2023
I am seeking to raise money for my friend Ernesto Behrens to prove his innocence. Twenty-six years ago, he was prosecuted, found guilty and sentenced to die in the Florida Department of Corrections for a crime he did not commit.
On May 8, 1995, Dr. Guy Durand, extracted three cysts from Ernesto's body. One from his abdomen, the second one from his lower back and the third one from his buttuck area. All the cysts were sent to the pathologist for a biopsy. This intervention required stitches on all three areas. Additionally, bandages were placed on each of the three extractions. He went to see the Doctor for a change of bandages, every other day. He was given a prescription for painkillers and he remained resting for a whole week. On May 15, 1995, the stitches were removed by Dr. Durand. This testimony was properly backed up by the internal documentation of his office and medical records related to this intervention. Of course, Dr. Durand's testimony nor the documentation he presented at trial were ever refuted by the State.
On that night of May 11th and the early morning of May 12th, 1995, four days after his surgical intervention by Dr. Durand. Ernesto was staying with his girlfriend at the time, Paula. They were staying at Lighthouse Point Florida, approximately 20 miles away from the crime scene. On that specific day and time, he was sleeping in the same bed Paula was sleeping in, and he was under pain medication with stitches in his body and of course, still wearing three different bandages on his wounds. The victim and Ernesto never met before nor did they ever cross each other's path. So it was impossible for him to be in two different places at the same time. This uncontradicted testimony by his alibi witness was never refuted by the State during trial.
However, on the same day of May 12th, 1995, at approximately 5:00 a.m. in the city of Plantation, Florida, the victim, a twenty-seven year old white female was sexually assaulted by the assailant in this case. The victim reported that her assailant was in her apartment for about 10 - 15 minutes. The assailant undressed and straddled the victim's mouth with his penis for about one or two minutes. Then the assailant ejaculated on the victim's left thigh. The assailant picked up the victim's black and white print dress and wiped off the seminal fluid from the victim's leg and from himself. The assailant flet from the victim's apartment but her dress was left behind and later on, it was taken by law enforcement officers as evidence in this case.
This dress has never been DNA tested. However, the victim and sole witness to the crime, had described the assailant of this crime, as being a young male in his twenties, weighing about 160 pounds, approximately 5 feet - 7 inches tall and circumcised. Importantly to emphasize, on May 12, 1995, Ernesto was 31 years old, weighing about 180 pounds, approximately 5 feet - 11 inches tall and not circumcised. In fact, Ernesto was never identified by the victim as the perpetrator of this crime, and furthermore, the 11 fingerprints, 4 palm prints and one shoe print found at the kitchen window-–where the perpetrator gained entry to the victim's apartment and later on exited her apartment, were not Ernesto's prints.
Nonetheless, Ernesto and I have been friends for over 35-years, and on the loyalty in which our friendship stands, I humbly request everybody's help to reach a fundraising goal of $7,500.00, before December 15, 2023. It is my sole intention to invest the funds raised in two very specific but extremely important areas of this cause.
The first area in which I am investing in is in the update and redesign of the website that was created for Ernesto's case. In fact, it has been over 5 years since it was launched for the first time. The website needs major professional updates and an overall editing and modernisation. Although, it has been a great source of connection with people from all around the world, and a true mecca of information that has allowed me to share multitude of factual, valuable and important information on Ernesto's case—which by the way, would have been otherwise impossible for Ernesto and myself to share with anyone. This website is ultimately in need of actualization. In fact, this website has been my number one source of connection with all the people who have been understanding, believing, trusting, helping and supporting Ernesto's cause while spreading the word about his 26-years prison ordeal and of course, the obvious miscarriage of justice that had taken place in his case.
On the other hand, the second area of investment is the immediate hiring of a Private Investigator to help us to navigate through this current review that is taking place in Ernesto's case, by the Broward Conviction Review Unit. In fact, what I am looking for is a Private Investigator with previous experience in the fields of forensic fingerprint identification and forensic DNA evidence collection and handling procedures. This Private Investigator will assist us (the Broward CRU and us) with any of his independent findings and developments related to the forensic fingerprints and DNA evidence of this case. In other words, he could be an intermediary between the Broward CRU, the FBI analyst, the DNA consultant and us. Therefore, my current research, investigation and calculations on how the funds raised will be used, are explained through the following breakdown of the costs that make up my fundraising goal:
- Although WordPress professionals’ rates vary wildly depending on what specific tasks and site work is needed, a negotiated $2,500.00 as a one-time flat rate for the professional update, redesign and editing of our existing website has been agreed to.
- Private Investigator's fee calculated at an hourly rate of $250.00. This job will be approximately 20 hours of work for a grand total of $5,000.00. The first part of the Private Investigator's assignment would be processing the available finger and palm prints with the FBI through the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System, more commonly known as the (IAFIS). This is the national fingerprint and criminal history system maintained by the FBI's Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Division. The second part of the Private Investigator's assignment would be processing the available biological/forensic evidence containing DNA with the FBI through the Combined DNA Index System more commonly known as the (CODIS). This is the DNA database used by law enforcement agencies for matching DNA profiles during criminal investigations. CODIS consists of three levels of information; Local DNA Index Systems (LDIS) where DNA profiles originate, State DNA Index Systems (SDIS) which allows for laboratories within states to share information, and the National DNA Index System (NDIS) which allows states to compare DNA information with one another. Or it could be done through an independent Laboratory if previously agreed to by the parties.
Honestly, I cannot emphasize enough the sad reality that the only meaningful attention that Ernesto's case has received in the last 26-years, is the current review by Broward (CRU). Nothing else ever happened before this review, and more likely, nothing will ever happen in this already old and stale case after this review takes place. Therefore, I cannot take the risk not to do whatever I need to do to take advantage of the momentum of this case. In fact, there had been so many years of discouragement in this case and all, due to the lack of attention put into the facts of this case. Therefore, at this time, I want to make sure that we obtain all available identification testing procedures that could prove Ernesto's wrongful conviction.
Last, but not least important, as soon as I was told that the Broward Conviction Review Unit were going to review Ernesto's case, I immediately explained to Ms. Arielle Demby Berger, ASA in charge of the Broward (CRU), the importance of reexamining the multiple finger and palm prints collected at the point of entry and exit of this crime scene. Even though none of those prints ever matched Ernesto's prints, running them again, almost three decades later with the FBI and/or the FDLE fingerprints database could point us in the right direction of finding the actual perpetrator of this crime. It has been equally emphasized to the Broward (CRU) the importance of conducting DNA testing—for the first time, on the victim's black and white print dress used by the assailant to wipe off seminal fluid from the victim's legs, as well as retesting the victim's bed fitted sheet with more updated and sophisticated DNA testing procedures. Please, help Ernesto Behrens prove his innocence!
Sincerely yours,
Franziska Kaltenbach.
