DETROIT (AP MODIFIED) — A man convicted of driving into the Detroit River and drowning his four children in 1989 pleaded with the Michigan parole board for a shorter prison sentence Thursday, insisting the deaths were an accident.
Lawrence DeLisle, 63, said during a public board hearing that a leg cramp caused him to hit the gas pedal and plunge the vehicle into the river in Wyandotte.
“The next thing I know, I’m in the water, coughing, trying to locate the vehicle. ... A wave of despair came over me," DeLisle said.
He and his wife were rescued, but their four children, ages 8 and under, died. DeLisle, who has been in prison for nearly 35 years, is serving a life sentence for first-degree murder and attempted murder.
His now ex-wife, Suzanne, released a letter through her lawyer, to the parole board.
"On August 3, 1989, Larry murdered them (her kids) and he tried to murder me. It was not the first time he tried to kill his family. These words may be surprising because they stand in stark contrast to what I said I believed decades ago. I have been too scared to speak and believed my ex-husband was safely locked away. Now I am too scared not to speak," she wrote.
Suzanne Delisle statement to parole board by WXYZ-TV Channel 7 Detroit on Scribd
Dan Galeski, who worked for Wyandotte Police for 37 years and was the lead investigator on the DeLisle case, suspected the convicted killer might one day try to get out of prison.
"But I thought with five life sentences, it would be kind of impossible. So I was really surprised at what's happening now," Galeski told 7 Action News.
Galeski said he began to suspect DeLisle intended to kill his family when his stories began to change from the gas pedal being stuck to a leg cramp and his shoe getting stuck.
But it was when a woman who lived in an apartment building next to the road where it ended at the river told police something that would help secure charges in the case.
Galeski said, "She saw the same car driving there the night before. And she was on her porch when this happened. She saw the car at the drugstore and then all of a sudden, when he pulled out on the street, he just put the gas pedal down and went straight into the water, right through the barricades."
And then there was the taped police interview with DeLisle. The jury never saw it because it was ruled inadmissible.
"I did everything by the book, but they did throw it out. They said he was in custody too long before I read him his rights," said Galeski.
But Galeski says it was akin to a confession. "In the interview process, he said, 'I thought if we all went together, we'd be together in the afterlife.' And he pointed up to the sky."
Galeski is now hoping the parole board does not recommend release.
"He must finish his sentence because four lives were lost. And his wife, there was an attempt on her," Galeski said.
Only Gov. Gretchen Whitmer can commute, or shorten, DeLisle's prison term. The state parole board will review a transcript of the hearing, discuss the case and give an opinion.
The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office said it opposes DeLisle's request, The Detroit News reported.
He hasn't committed any misconduct while in prison, which is “very rare” for someone locked up for decades, state Corrections Department spokesman Kyle Kaminski said.
Parole board member Anthony King, who led the hearing, said it’s “hard to believe” that DeLisle didn’t slam on the brakes after the vehicle jerked forward.
The Innocence Clinic at University of Michigan law school and the law school at Northwestern University are supporting DeLisle and say the crash was an accident, not a crime, the News reported.
“He's not a danger to anyone, and there’s no reason to keep him in prison,” said retired attorney Peter Van Hoek, who was involved in earlier appeals.
