Buck's bond lowered based on doctor's opinion

Judge Patrick J. Clifford lowered the bond of accused murderer Charles F. Buck by $1 million Wednesday based on a Yale pathologist's opinion that Buck's wife died of a heart condition in May 2002 rather than a head injury.

It was not immediately clear whether Buck, a 63-year-old electrical contractor who mortgaged four properties he owns to pay his legal fees, would be able to make the bond, which is now set at $1.5 million. Bondsmen use several variables to determine how much collateral a defendant needs to put up, including the charges he faces and his criminal record, flight risk and financial status.

Stonington police charged Buck in January 2009 with murdering his wife, Leslie Buck, seven years earlier at their home on Masons Island Road in Mystic. Buck had remained incarcerated in lieu of $2.5 million bond while his case was pending.

Jury selection was set to begin earlier this month but was postponed when the state turned over to the defense an Aug. 27 letter from Yale pathologist Steve E. Downing, who opined that Mrs. Buck died of a heart condition called lymphocytic myocarditis. The medical examiner had noted the heart condition in her autopsy report.

Based on the new information, Buck's attorneys, Hubert Santos and Hope Seeley, filed a motion to reduce Buck's $2.5 million bond. Buck has no prior criminal record and, Santos noted, did not flee the area during the seven years he was free following his wife's death.

Clifford, who transferred to New London Superior Court on Aug. 30, listened to arguments from the defense and state before reducing the bond. He said he was in an odd position since different judges had signed the warrant leading to Buck's arrest and heard testimony at a June 2009 probable cause hearing.

Clifford said the doctor's opinion is not fleshed out but "cannot be of help to the state." He said it "does not mean there's not a homicide" and that he is not in the practice of lowering a bond on the eve of a homicide trial, but it is his duty to set a reasonable bond.

The mysterious circumstances surrounding the 57-year-old schoolteacher's death have captivated local residents, including friends of the popular elementary school teacher who have organized annual events in her memory and attended dozens of court proceedings.

On May 2, 2002, a friend of Buck had kidnapped Leslie Buck, assaulted her and shocked her with a stun gun. She escaped from Russell Kirby only to be found dead two days later at the bottom of a staircase in the Bucks' home.

The state alleges that Charles Buck, who was infatuated with a young bartender named Carol Perez, fatally struck his wife in the head with a heavy length of copper wire. Dr. Malka Shah, a now-retired medical examiner, ruled that Leslie Buck died of a fractured skull and subdural hematoma but said she could not determine whether the case was a homicide.

Judge Susan B. Handy had previously denied a bond-reduction motion and the state Appellate Court upheld her ruling. But on Wednesday, Santos argued that the doctor's opinion, which had been solicited by the state in preparation for trial, significantly weakened the state's case. He asked the judge to reduce the bond to $500,000 and order that Buck be monitored electronically.

"I would submit that there is no reason to believe there was a crime in regard to Mrs. Buck, except for the actions of Mr. Kirby," Santos said.

Russell Kirby is now serving a 21-year sentence for kidnapping.

Leslie Buck had a contusion on her chest and complained of chest pains following the kidnapping and was treated at Lawrence & Memorial Hospital. Santos said the hospital performed an X-ray, and possibly an echocardiogram, but did not draw blood to further test for evidence of a heart attack.

Prosecutor Paul J. Narducci argued that a heart attack and myocarditis are two different conditions and said there is no information that could tie Leslie Buck's chest injury to myocarditis.

Narducci acknowledged the state built its case against Buck based on circumstantial evidence, but said it doesn't mean the state's case is weak. He noted Buck had a strong motive for killing his wife and had showered bartender Perez with gifts before and after his wife's death.

Narducci said there is no indication the Yale pathologist was aware of the other circumstances of Leslie Buck's death, such as the head injury, when he studied slides of her heart.

Santos and Seeley met briefly with Buck in a courthouse holding area following the judge's ruling on Wednesday. They declined to comment as they left a short time later. Buck, who appeared in court in his orange prison jumpsuit and looked with apparent curiosity at members of the audience, was expected to return, at least temporarily, to the MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution in Suffield.

Following his arrest, Buck put together an $850,000 legal fund by mortgaging the four properties he owns in town to Santos and Seeley and Norwich attorney Donald Beebe. The agreements call for Buck to pay back the principal on the mortgages as soon as he sells the properties. He sold one of the properties, a home that had been occupied by his mother-in-law, earlier this year.

Jury selection was initially rescheduled to Sept. 22, but prosecutor Lawrence J. Tytla said it would be postponed again while the state and defense follow up on the new information.

k.florin@theday.com