by KYW's Tony Hanson
Testimony has ended in the retrial of Wilfredo Santiago, who is charged with the May 1985 murder of Philadelphia police officer Thomas Trench. Santiago was convicted in 1986, but the conviction was overturned and the case has been tied up in appeals ever since (see previous story).
The defense has rested and Santiago, who has pleaded not guilty, has chosen not to testify in his own behalf.
Closing arguments are scheduled for Monday. Before resting, the defense presented evidence -- a message on a bathroom wall and calls to police -- suggesting that Officer Trench’s murder was committed by MOVE members or their sympathizers in retaliation for the confrontation with the city earlier that month that left 11 MOVE members dead.
But a former Philadelphia police commander, Eugene Dooley, has testified that an investigation determined that MOVE members were not responsible for the murder of Trench.
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