Convicted in slaying of West Brighton woman, killer flies into courtroom rage

Staten Island Advance/Michael OatesMurder suspect Calvin Lawson, 28, is escorted from the 120 Precinct by police officers on his way to Stapleton Criminal Court on May 5, 2009.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A murderer exploded in rage today, splintering a bolted table and struggling with court officers after a jury convicted him of strangling a West Brighton woman in her home last year —because she allegedly had gossiped about him.
Calvin Lawson, 29, initially sat stone-faced when jurors convicted him of slaying Caroline Wimmer, 26, on March 28, 2009, in her Greenleaf Avenue studio apartment.
But the stocky defendant erupted minutes later when Justice Stephen J. Rooney told court officers to take charge of him, witnesses said. The 12-member jury had just left the courtroom in state Supreme Court, St. George.
Lawson placed his hands beneath the defense table and tried to flip it as he stood up, said witnesses. Three of the table’s bolted legs came out of their moorings, and the table shattered.
Lawson’s family members wailed in the audience as court officers moved in quickly to subdue the raging defendant, said witnesses. One woman fainted and had to be carried out.
Court observers said it was one of the most disruptive displays to occur in the courtroom. The victim’s family remained composed throughout it, they said.
In sharp contrast, Lawson had smiled and blew a kiss to his mother yesterday when court broke for the day prior to deliberations
Caroline Wimmer, 26, was murdered on March 28, 2009.After today's blowup, a pen was found in Lawson’s sling, said a law-enforcement source. The defendant’s left arm had previously been hurt in a prison incident.
Lawson, 29, potentially faces a maximum of 25 years to life in prison when sentenced for second-degree murder on June 17. The jury reached its verdict after deliberating about three hours.
"This was a brutal and senseless crime which ended a young life filled with promise and potential," said District Attorney Daniel Donovan. "While no result available from the criminal justice system can return Caroline Wimmer to her family and friends, this jury has ensured that Calvin Lawson will likely spend the rest of his natural life in prison."
Prosecutors said Lawson killed Ms. Wimmer over allegations that she had told his girlfriend, the mother of his two children, he was cheating on her with another woman.
The two argued and Lawson beat her, before strangling her with a hair-dryer cord, said prosecutors.
Lawson left the hair dryer on the victim when he departed.
The defendant did not take the stand during the trial.
In his summation yesterday, defense lawyer Mark J. Fonte maintained the killer was the prosecution’s star witness — an AWOL former Marine and friend of Lawson’s. The witness was in the apartment for a time and had finished off Ms. Wimmer with the hair-dryer cord after his client choked her with his hands, Fonte told jurors.
He contended the man, who has a cooperation agreement with prosecutors that could spare him jail, was merely trying to save his own hide. His name is being withheld at prosecutors’ request for fear of retribution.
The evidence against Lawson, however, was too compelling, Assistant District Attorneys Wanda DeOliveira and Kathleen Naughton told jurors in their opening statement and summation.
Besides the witness’ account of the deadly confrontation, Lawson’s DNA was found under five of the victim’s fingernails. Lawson could be heard in audio recordings telling the witness after the murder to keep his mouth shut.
Moreover, the witness had no motive to kill Ms. Wimmer — he didn’t know her, prosecutors contended.
"Assistant District Attorney DeOliveira did an excellent job prosecuting this case," Fonte, the defense lawyer, said outside court. "I respect the jury’s verdict."