NYPD Officer & Former Univ. Of Md. Student Convicted In Cannibalism Plot
NEW YORK (WJZ) -- The trial of a so-called New York City cannibal cop who has ties to Maryland is over.
Gilberto Valle was convicted of kidnapping, conspiracy and illegally accessing a national crime database.
Mike Schuh has more details.
His defense attorney says this conviction sets a dangerous precedent--that a person was convicted for what they thought, and not what they did.
The New York cop wasn't convicted for cannibalism or even thinking about it, researching it, or his electronic chats with others about it.
He was convicted, prosecutors say, because he was actively planning to accept $5,000 to kidnap a New Jersey woman and--with another man--kill her, cook her and eat her.
He's also convicted of using a police database to search for information about his victims--two of whom went to school at the University of Maryland and were friends with Valle's wife. She uncovered his plot on their computer and testified against him as it came to light he was planning on killing and cooking her.
The officer's mother believes he was wrongly convicted.
"I'm in shock. That's all I have to say," she said.
The five-year veteran never took the stand, a mistake according to a former prosecutor.
"If he had testified he could have explained it away. He could have said it was fantasizing," he said.
The officer's attorney says they will file an appeal of his conviction in federal appeals court.
Gilberto Valle was, after his conviction, fired by the NYPD and is looking at the possibility of life in prison.
