Appeals ruling could allow key evidence

A confession was thrown out in the murder of an elderly woman, and a new trial ordered. Now the case hinges on a ring.

The prosecution's case against Nathan Joe Ramirez, accused of raping and killing an elderly New Port Richey widow in 1995, suffered a severe blow last year when a judge threw out the state's only piece of physical evidence: the victim's ring.

The state's case against Ramirez suddenly seemed in dire straits. The Florida Supreme Court already had barred prosecutors from using the confession Ramirez gave to authorities.

But on Wednesday, momentum shifted to the prosecution.

A state appeals court said Circuit Judge William Webb improperly considered testimony from a prior hearing in ruling that prosecutors could not introduce at trial a three-stone ring that Ramirez allegedly stole from the victim, 71-year-old Mildred Boroski.

The 2nd District Court of Appeal, sitting as a three-judge panel, ordered another hearing on the matter, but gave no explicit instructions about whether the ring should be admitted as evidence. However, one of the appellate judges, in a concurring opinion, wrote that the ring should be admitted because Ramirez handed it over voluntarily to a detective.

Webb ruled last year that the seizure of the ring "was not the result of a free and voluntary consent by the defendant."

"Obviously, we're in a better position now," prosecutor Mike Halkitis said Wednesday.

Halkitis said the concurring opinion, while not binding, "is extremely influential." Any trial judge would have to strongly consider the concurring opinion in deciding whether the ring is admissible at trial.

"We have good law on our side," Halkitis said.

Ramirez, now 25, and a co-defendant, Jonathan Grimshaw, both confessed to taking part in Boroski's murder. Grimshaw is serving a life sentence. Ramirez, who confessed to firing the fatal shots, was convicted of first-degree murder in 1996 and sentenced to death.

But in 1999, the Florida Supreme Court ordered a new trial for Ramirez, ruling that detectives had tricked him into confessing by not properly advising him of his rights.

With the confession off-limits to prosecutors, Boroski's ring has become the state's strongest piece of evidence.

"The ring connects the defendant to the crime," Halkitis said.

Ramirez's lawyer, Keith Hammond, could not be reached for comments Wednesday.

A retrial date for Ramirez has not been set, as the case sat in limbo for 17 months while the appeals court considered Webb's ruling on the ring. Prosecutors again are seeking the death penalty against Ramirez, who remains in custody without bail.

Boroski, who lived alone in her Seven Springs home, was killed on March 10, 1995, on the night of her 71st birthday. Grimshaw and Ramirez, classmates at Gulf High School, decided to break in and steal birthday gifts, according to previous testimony.

Once inside, the teens were confronted by Boroski's miniature poodle, Chippy, according to records. The teens later told detectives that they beat Chippy to death with a crowbar. Prosecutors say the teens then took turns raping Boroski, looted her house, and drove her to a field a half-mile away.

There, Ramirez shot Boroski twice in the head, prosecutors say.

When detectives first visited Ramirez at his house, he denied any knowledge of the crime. But Pasco sheriff's detectives had taped a telephone conversation between Grimshaw and Ramirez during which the teens discussed the whereabouts of some of the evidence, including the ring. Confronted with the contents of the tape, Ramirez, then 17, handed over the ring to a deputy.

Judge Webb cited a number of factors, including Ramirez's age and the lack of a search warrant, in ruling that detectives had improperly seized the ring.

Judge Carolyn K. Fulmer of the 2nd District Court of Appeal disagreed.

"There was no detention and no evidence of intimidation or false misrepresentations to indicate coercion," Judge Fulmer wrote, adding, "A reasonable person in Ramirez's position would have felt free to terminate the encounter."

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