After a two-week trial and four days of jury deliberation, Dr. Robert Neulander, an obstetrician residing in DeWitt, was found guilty of murder in the second degree and tampering with physical evidence in the 2012 death of his wife Leslie Neulander.
“Justice has been served,” said Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick at a press conference after the jury announced its verdict on April 2. “There weren’t many people in that courtroom speaking for Leslie, but Leslie wasn’t the only victim in this case.”
Originally, Leslie Neulander’s death in 2012 was ruled as an accident due to a fall in the shower by the DeWitt police department. Former Onondaga County Medical Examiner Dr. Mary Jumbelic’s interest in re-examining the case was what brought the prosecution back to life, said Fitzpatrick.
The trial, which started on March 16 at the Onondaga County Courthouse, was held for two weeks and several testimonies were made by experts and forensic pathologists that showed mistakes in the original decision.
Fitzpatrick said he believed the jury reached a guilty verdict due to several factors, including the time of death being inconsistent with Neulander’s story, blood splatter evidence and the location of the injuries Leslie sustained being all above the waist.
Fitzpatrick also said the 911 call from Jenna Neulander, the daughter of Robert and Leslie, led to the guilty verdict because she called as her father was taking her mother out of the shower, but said there was already “blood everywhere,” including in the bedroom located next to the bathroom.
“There isn’t anyone in this office that doesn’t feel for the Neulander family, but they were victimized by what this man did,” Fitzpatrick said. “I know an awful lot about Dr. Robert Neulander and believe me, there’s plenty that I know that the jury didn’t know and there’s a very good reason Mr. Menkin [Robert Neulander’s lawyer] didn’t call any character witnesses in that case.”
Hayleigh Gowans is a reporter for the Eagle Bulletin. She can be reached at [email protected].
