NEW HAVEN, Conn. — A New Haven is exonerated after serving 28 years in prison for a crime he did not commit.
Adam Carmon was charged with the 1994 murder of 7-month-old Danielle Taft and paralyzing her grandmother in a drive-by shooting, but after he was granted a new trial last year a judge dismissed the case entirely on Tuesday, but this day wasn’t a happy ending for everyone involved.
Seven months of memories, that’s all baby Danielle Taft’s family got when bullets riddled their New Haven home, killing her and paralyzing her grandmother in February 1994.
A picture is the only tangible thing that they have left.
“We heard her cries, but we never heard her speak. She never said a word. You robbed us of that,” said Taft’s cousin, who was 10 years old when she died.
Soon after, Adam Carmon would be charged and found guilty of committing the murder. He was sentenced to 85 years, spending 28 of them behind bars.
The entire time, he professed his innocence.
In December 2022, he was granted a new trial and on Tuesday a judge dismissed the case.
Carmon’s lawyers released a statement saying in part: Judge Alander wrote in his decision. “The suppressed evidence and the new forensic evidence places the entire case against [Mr. Carmon] in such a different light as to undermine confidence in the verdict that the jury reached.”
They also said: “With the long overdue dismissal of all charges, Mr. Carmon can finally begin to put this nightmare behind him.”
For baby Danielle’s family, they said it’s like going back in time.
“So that's what my nightmare has been since Tuesday. Reliving that night over and over and over again because it's like it just happened,” said her mom, Shirley Troutman.
She said they never thought they would go from rest in peace to justice for Danielle.
“I am a prisoner in my city, and it hurts,” said Troutman. “All I say is if there's people out there and they do remember what happened or they happen to hear anything to come forward. I mean, that's all you can do. Give me, my family. Danielle's family give us peace.”
Police are asking if anyone has any new information about this case to please come forward.
---
Have a story idea or something on your mind you want to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at newstips@fox61.com
----
HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET FOX61 NEWS
Download the FOX61 News APP
iTunes: Click here to download
Google Play: Click here to download
Stream Live on ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching FOX61.
Steam Live on FIRE TV: Search ‘FOX61’ and click ‘Get’ to download.