Woman Freed After 13 Years in Prison as New Evidence Contradicts Claims She Aided Hitman in Murder

Kimberly Hanzlik, 59, was released on Tuesday, November 26, after spending 13 years in prison. This followed the discovery of new evidence that contradicted the earlier accounts of her involvement in a 1999 Bronx murder.

Hanzlik was convicted in 2011 along with gunman Joseph Meldish, who was accused of killing Thomas Brown. The prosecution had claimed that Hanzlik tipped off Meldish about Brown’s location at Frenchy’s Tavern on East Tremont Avenue on March 21, 1999, leading to the fatal shooting.

Kimberly Hanzlik had been sentenced to 20 years to life in prison for her role in the murder of Thomas Brown, which occurred in 1999.

Hanzlik

Meldish

However, new evidence uncovered by the Bronx District Attorney’s Office cast doubt on her involvement in the crime. This evidence suggested that Hanzlik may not have even been at the bar when the murder took place.

At the time, Hanzlik, who was struggling with crack addiction and working as a prostitute, was accused of accompanying Joseph Meldish and another man to the Throggs Neck bar where Brown was known to hang out.

Hanzlik allegedly saw Brown sitting with his wife, informed Meldish of his location, and he subsequently entered and shot Brown multiple times, killing him. However, it was later revealed that Meldish had mistakenly killed Brown’s lookalike brother, Joey, instead.

Meldish, known for his involvement in numerous gangland murders, had been angered by Brown’s refusal to lend him money for a deal and Brown’s subsequent reporting of him to the authorities after Meldish had burglarized his home.

In Hanzlik’s original trial, the testimony of the getaway driver played a pivotal role in her conviction, as the driver claimed Hanzlik had assisted in the murder. However, new developments in 2021 led to the reopening of the case.

Hanzlik’s attorneys appealed to the Bronx District Attorney’s Conviction Integrity Bureau, which discovered key pieces of evidence that undermined her conviction.

Among the findings, old police documents revealed that the getaway driver had originally stated Hanzlik wasn’t present at the scene of the shooting. Additionally, Brown’s wife, who had testified that she saw Hanzlik in the bar before the shooting, had not mentioned her at all until seven years later, in 2006.

Furthermore, the case was marred by the actions of a now-deceased NYPD detective, who had previously been involved in coercing false identifications in an unrelated case.

Based on this new evidence, on November 26, an administrative judge at the Bronx Hall of Justice ruled in favor of vacating Hanzlik’s conviction, dismissing the indictment, sealing the case, and ordering her release from prison after 13 years.

“Ms. Hanzlik served 13 years in prison based on trial testimony that would not meet today’s threshold of credibility given the discovery of new information, which casts doubt on the integrity of her conviction, and we cannot stand by it,” Clark said.

“I realize this causes pain and anguish for the victim’s family, but in the interest of justice, we are dismissing the indictment against Ms. Hanzlik.”

Afterward, Hanzlik’s attorney, Irving Cohen, said it was an “amazing day.”

“We knew she was innocent right away,” the attorney said, adding that his client was “really emotional” about being freed.

“I mean, she is totally innocent. She wasn’t there when this event happened.”

Not everyone was elated, however.

“I am disgusted this is happening,” Eileen Brown, Joseph’s widow, said. “I don’t understand how they could be letting her out.”

“Her record will be erased. It’s like she was never even arrested,” she continued.

“If she didn’t walk into that bar and point out my husband, he would still be with us today. My husband was a good man. He had a good job and he was in the Air Force Reserve. We had a young son.

“We were a happy family with a great future and because of her it all ended that night.”