By Leigh Clifton
David Perry, the Elmira, New York man who is the only
suspect in the 2011 disappearance and probable murder of his then- girlfriend
St. Petersburg Police Cadet Kelly Rothwell faces a jury on Monday… Again… But
not for Kelly Rothwell’s murder. Perry, who was living with Kelly at her Indian
Rocks Beach, Florida condo in 2011, was charged with Grand Larceny and Fraud
after claiming an injured back in a Work- Comp related incident when he was a
Corrections Officer at Elmira Correctional, in Elmira, New York. The incident
stemmed from a 2003 “red dot” call to a prisoner’s cell for a fight; Perry
wasn’t supposed to respond but did so, then claimed he was slammed backwards on
a prisoner’s bed, hurting his back.
Several eye witnesses testified that Perry was never
actually IN the cell and that his claims of injury, which resulted in thousands
of dollars in Workman’s Compensation , Social Security and pension payouts,
were false.
Earlier in August of this year, Perry, who had been in jail
in Steuben County on related charges and felony assault, was transported to
Broome County to face a jury and answer the question as to whether or not he
lied about his injuries in order to get benefits he was not entitled to.
On August 19th, a jury was unable to come to a
conclusion, resulting in a hung jury. Perry walked out to freedom. According to
one of the witnesses at the trial, Perry looked “horrible; gaunt and skinny,
like he hadn’t eaten in a while.” Gone
was the boyish, surfer look, replaced by the classic “jail pallor” having spent
almost two years in the county jails.
On Monday, September
30, 2013, Perry faces a jury a SECOND time in his trial and this time the ADA
will be ready for him… and so will the jury.
In Perry’s first trial, he was charming, smooth and
convincing, according to a source at the trial. But this time the ADA is ready
for Perry’s machinations and plans on letting the jurors know about his “wolf
in sheep’s clothing” charm; a charm that may have ultimately and tragically
precipitated
in Kelly Rothwell’s murder.
After his release, apparently Perry made some references to
his “wife” Melissa Walker, who he claimed he was now free to spend time with.
Thing is, she’s NOT his wife anymore. Melissa Walker divorced David Perry while
he was in jail, on July 24, 2012, having filed earlier that year in January, according
to the Hawaii Clerk of Court Public Records. There is no information that
states she may still be in contact with him. But I hope for her sake, she
realizes how lucky she was to get away….
Knowing Perry, he is probably already trolling the internet,
looking for his next conquest (read victim).
No one knows how a jury up there in New York is going to
react to the evidence the ADA presents them this time; hopefully it will
include the photos of Perry practicing his windsurfing techniques in the Gulf of Mexico with his “badly
injured back”. The saddest thing about those photos is that Kelly is in the
background in a few of them; a young, wistful woman, so full of life that was
taken way before her time.
Also, I do hope that somebody kept tabs on
Perry while he was awaiting this second trial; I’ve always contended that he
allegedly killed Kelly and brought her up to New York, where he knew no
Pinellas County Sheriff, whose office is investigating the case, would have the
time or resources to look for her. Like any sociopathic predator, most people
like to return to the scene; it gives them a sense of control, something Perry,
with his severe OCD, seems to crave incessantly. I would venture to say that
Perry, who considers himself superior in intellect and looks (although not any
more, from the witness description) thinks he may well have gotten away with
Kelly’s murder. It has always been my theory that she is up in New York.
Someone who is as much a control freak as Perry is would want to keep
revisiting the scene, as much for reassurance of his prowess and cunning as
well as to confirm his crime. Remember, he was part of the legal system as a
C.O. so he knows how to get away, literally, with murder. Just keep your mouth
shut.
And what about that red truck?
According to a source close to the investigation, days after Perry fled to
Florida the night Kelly went “missing”, a red truck showed up in his driveway…
a red truck that two weeks later he drove down to Florida, supposedly to give
to his son. How brilliant a plan would that be if he had used that truck to
move Kelly’s body from the back of his blue Honda to transport it to her final,
sad and solitary resting place. Then clean it and drive it down to Florida
where no one would think to test it for DNA….
Remember, his blue Honda, which
Kelly had ridden in and driven in hundreds of times, had NO female DNA in it...
NONE according to Sheriff Gualtieri. And when Perry finally gave UP the car to
the NY police, two weeks after he had fled up to Elmira, there was such a pervasive smell of bleach and
industrial cleaner that one officer said he could smell it five feet from the
car. NO DNA? TRULY??? So was the red
truck processed?
According to Detective Mike
Bailey, of the Pinellas County Sheriffs office, that information is part of
the ongoing investigation in Florida.
But any trace evidence would have
been lost anyway possibly; it’s been too long since Kelly Rothwell went
“missing.” I wonder what opportunities were lost that might have helped get
proof of Perry’s involvement? Did it even occur to the Sheriff’s office that
that is what he might have done? I guess we’ll never know.
I know one thing; Kelly Rothwell
is still missing and I contend that David Perry knows where she is and what
happened to her.
But on Monday, Perry will once
again face a Broome County jury on Larceny and Fraud charges. There is still an
appeal pending from Steuben County DA Brooks Baker on the charges in Steuben
County and the Forfeiture of Assets to be heard later this fall.
Can someone please tell me how a
judge can overlook it when a guy who is a suspect in a murder investigation, as
well as Grand Larceny AND Fraud, has his house searched, they find $128,000
dollars in small bills hidden away under his dresser, a brand new car, which
would require little maintenance and purchased with CASH, a drivers license
with the name David Walker on it, (perfect for Mexico) numerous “toys” like expensive motorcycles
and snow mobiles and then STILL grants
him the right to get those things back..
REALLY???? The cash wasn't just a BIT of a red flag Judge??? Driver’s license,
obtained 6 months from the date Perry married Melissa Walker and changed his
name to hers (briefly)... An International driver’s licenses with a WAITING
period of... wait for it… six months? Does anybody else think he just used Melissa
Walker to get her last name on his license so he could disappear to Cabo and
live the surfer life?
Where did the cash come from? Is
Perry Mr. Thrifty?? Or did he just drive a LOT from Florida to New York… New
York to Florida, etc. (I mean a LOT)
Pretty soon (hopefully)
“Teflon Dave” will get caught up in his own web of deception.
But it can’t come soon enough
for the Rothwells.
They wanted to be at the
Courthouse on Monday, but they got notice about the re-trial on Friday, too
late for the arrangements to be made.
So they, like all of the rest
of us, must trust in a New York legal system that has been quite disappointing
in the past.
Let’s get it right this time.
Kelly Rothwell deserves
better…
