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This has always been an intriguing case since I saw a documentary on it that went into the timeline in detail. I couldn't remember the name of the family, but I remembered that the convicted killer drove a yellow jeep. So, to see if there were any books on this case, I googled "ax murder" and "yellow jeep", and that is all I needed!!! It took me right to this book, November Memories.
This book only presents the facts. The author doesn't speculate or provide his own theories, which I appreciated. He leaves it up to the reader to follow the facts that were presented in the case to make your own decision.
I am only reviewing this book in this post, not the documentary that I saw ages ago, but I do want to refer to the documentary or at least as well as I can remember it. Chris Porco was a college student in New York who was accused of attacking both of his parents, Peter and Joan Porco, with an ax - killing his father and leaving his mother badly disfigured and clinging to life. When law enforcement and paramedics arrived and began to tend to Joan, they asked if she knew who attacked her and she nodded her head yes. They asked if it was her son, Johnathan, she shook her head no. They asked if it was her son, Chris, she nodded her head yes. I think she knew what she was saying, but later on, she claims she doesn't remember anything at all from that night.
Chris's parents lived 3 hours away from where he went to school. Video surveillance from the campus, toll tickets from the expressway, and digital data recovered from the house alarm system, all paint a timeline where Chris (or someone) left campus in his yellow jeep, got onto the expressway towards the Porco's family home, put in the master code on the family alarm system, and returned back to campus - all within the hours that Mr. and Mrs. Porco were attacked.
It seems that the defense team did not have anything substantial to argue with to defend Chris and show he was innocent. They only seemed to use technicalities against the prosecution to call for mistrials or object to evidence and witnesses. I'm sure the jury probably thought the same thing as me - well, the defense is probably covering up for this crime and trying to get him off on a technicality because they know that's the only way he will not be convicted. Nothing was presented that could dispute the prosecution's theories or evidence. I think the jury made the right decision in convicting Chris of murder and attempted murder. The jury said that Joan Porco's head nod had no influence on their decision.
There is forensic/DNA evidence in this case that links Chris to the crime. His DNA was found on a toll ticket collected at the toll booth. While his defense tried to argue that this could have been planted or contaminated, I believe the evidence. Everything else fits way too perfectly for it to not have been Chris...unless someone stole his jeep to commit the crime while Chris camped out in someone else's room that night (since he wasn't seen in the dorm common room where he claims he slept). But then, if he did sleep in someone else's room that night, why didn't his lawyer use that to show he was innocent and accounted for during the hours of the crime? Again, I think because Chris knew he wasn't in another room, he was the one driving the jeep.
I do recall that on TV, I had seen something questioning how Chris could have committed the murder and attack on his parents and not have any blood evidence in his jeep. Also, no bloody clothes were ever found. I seem to remember that on TV, they mentioned that Chris could have taken protective wear from the vet hospital where he worked. This was not brought up in the book, so this will be a good thing to do some research on. I used to work in a vet school doing small animal surgery, so I know how easy it is to get access to protective wear in a lab. But my lab had security cameras and ID card swipe access to get into the building. Did the vet hospital not have any of that? Or was it not explored to see if Chris went to the vet hospital with his swipe access (if that existed there) and was seen on camera carrying out something he shouldn't have.
The lack of blood in the jeep, on Chris, and lack of bloody clothes is the big question mark for me. How did he do it? Where did he dispose of whatever he was wearing? Did they luminol the showers in the Porco house to see if he showered and cleaned up before leaving? Was no DNA found on the bloody ax other than his parents'? Did he do the act naked and then shower? The book states that he would not have had blood on him due to the blood spatter from the ax, but I disagree with this. I think he would have had some type of blood spatter on him from arterial pressure squirting blood all over the room and getting a fine mist on him, in addition to droplets from the ax as he brought the ax back over his head each time to strike. And if he did wear protective outerwear from the vet hospital, where did he dispose of that?
Something else that the TV had placed some emphasis on that was not explored in this book was Chris's computer business, which I don't think was completely legit. Even the burglary at the Porco's house the year before with the cut window screen seemed to link Chris to the attack! He was the one who staged the burglary and stole his parents' computers!
I think if the defense really believed their client was innocent, they would have taken DNA from the Dunkin' Donuts cup inside the jeep and looked for unknown DNA or fingerprints to prove that someone other than Chris could have been driving. But I don't recall that happening from the book.
The emails that are included in the book are very telling, I think. They show that Chris could have been a pathological liar and manipulated his parents to always believe him. I mean, I have 3 college degrees and I have NEVER heard of someone being given a free semester at college because a professor lost their exam. I mean, come on. And it seems that Peter and Joan Porco were caught in Chris's web and believed all of his outrageous excuses. Were they gullible parents? I don't know. They seemed loving and caring and very concerned for Chris's financial and academic future, but they also seemed passive aggressive in the emails. I wonder what the in-person or phone conversations were like between Chris and his parents. Did they confront him other than email?
According to the Mayo Clinic, sociopathy (also called antisocial personality disorder), is "a mental disorder in which a person consistently shows no regard for right and wrong and ignores the rights and feelings of others. People with antisocial personality disorder tend to antagonize, manipulate or treat others harshly or with callous indifference. They show no guilt or remorse for their behavior.
Individuals with antisocial personality disorder often violate the law, becoming criminals. They may lie, behave violently or impulsively, and have problems with drug and alcohol use. Because of these characteristics, people with this disorder typically can't fulfill responsibilities related to family, work or school." Symptoms may include pathological lying and manipulativeness.
I think this very much describes Chris. It wasn't emphasized in the book, but I recall that Chris portrayed himself as wealthy and of a higher status than he really was to all his friends. He knew how to charm people - and he knew how to charm his parents in those emails. He also seemed to have an issue with alcohol abuse, according to many of his schoolmates. It seemed that he had a problem fulfilling responsibilities such as paying bills, going to class, scoring well on tests, and forging his father's name to get loans.
I think the jury got it right, and Chris is where he deserves to be. What are your thoughts on Chris Porco? Any theories about the crime that weren't mentioned in the book?