Alice Sebold was seen in public the first time she has been since her conviction for rape 40 years ago.
Anthony Broadwater was sentenced for 16 years to a 1981 crime that he didn’t commit. He then struggled to rebuild his life after his release in 1999.
The private investigator who helped prove Broadwater’s innocence told DailyMail.com he has learned the name of a man who may be the real rapist – and is calling for the criminal case to now be reopened.
Broadwater was removed from the Netflix version of Sebold’s memoir after the producer noticed inconsistencies and sought out the assistance of a private investigator.
Sebold (58) hasn’t commented on Monday’s New York court decision to say that Broadwater, now at 61, was wrongfully convicted.
She was seen walking her dog Wednesday, just a few blocks from her San Francisco $6 million home.
Sebold moved to the city in 2007 with her husband, novelist Glen David Gould.
Alice Sebold (58), was seen taking her dog on Wednesday for a stroll near her San Francisco $6 million home
Broadwater’s conviction has been overturned, according to Sebold, who is 58.
Broadwater lives in Syracuse, New York since 1998 when he was released. Broadwater is married, but he did not have children as he wanted them to avoid the shame of his conviction for rape. Sebold knew that the crime for which he was wrongly convicted was what Sebold used as a way to launch her career. Sebold currently lives in San Francisco’s $6 million home. (right)
Following the publication of three bestsellers that were wildly successful, she relocated: Lucky in 1999; her memoir and The Lovely Bones and The Almost Moon (both 2002) and Lucky in 2007.
Private investigator Dan Myers believes he has the identity and the name of the man who murdered Lovely Bones author Alice Sebold
Lucky was a bestseller, and The Lovely Bones sold 10 million. Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson made The Lovely Bones into a film in 2010, starring Saoirse Ronan and Mark Wahlberg.
She has been able to write and have had the film adaptations made. Broadwater, however, has spoken of his struggle to find work after prison. He eventually became a trash collector and janitor.
DailyMail.com found out that Broadwater did not know she had used the story as a way to get her writing career started. Broadwater has lived in “squalor” since she was released from prison and she’s made millions selling books.
Broadwater, who was living in Syracuse’s derelict apartment at the time of the rape, was discovered by his private investigator earlier this year. He was shocked to discover that Sebold had already sold more than a million copies Lucky and made millions through The Lovely Bones.
He was shocked. This isn’t an exaggeration. He lives a very miserable existence. Based on Lucky and The Lovely Bones’ Alice Sebold is now living in San Francisco in an extremely, very luxurious home.
Mucciante said Wednesday that he believed it was wrong.
The man who helped Mucciante to secure Broadwater’s freedom, investigator Dan Myers, told DailyMail.com a detective who was involved in the original investigation gave him the name of a suspect, who was locked up for committing another sex crime around the time of Sebold’s rape.
Myers discovered that the man lives now in Syracuse, and that he is on New York’s list of sex-offenders.
Myers claimed that he was still around. “He did indeed spend time in prison and is now free.”
Sebold carried a $100 Dagne-Dover bag over her shoulder when she took her terriercross on Wednesday for a stroll.
Sebold had her case investigated by an independent investigator. He concluded she was definitely raped but the wrong man was convicted.
Lucky, xebold’s memoir about her 1981 attack, told the tale. Publishers have stated that they do not plan to revise the memoir due to Broadwater’s arrest.
Sebold’s books are in millions all over the world. Netflix purchased the rights to Sebold’s memoir for production in 2010. The Lovely Bones was made into a film in 2010
Sebold identified Broadwater as a young man of 20 years, who recently had left the Marines. Although she initially picked another man from a police lineup, Sebold later confirmed that Broadwater was actually the one. She said he looked exactly like the man she had chosen in the line up.
Sebold, after her walks with her dog, is returning home to see her.
Alice Sebold of Lovely Bones, left, has yet to comment about the exoneration and restitution of Anthony Broadwater. Broadwater was pictured in court Monday. Myers spoke exclusively to DailyMail.com and said that the suspect was named by a detective who had been involved in the original investigation.
Alice Sebold gave this 1981 lineup of black men to her. Anthony Broadwater, who is fourth from the left in this lineup, is second. The man in front of her was at the fifth spot. Police then informed her she had not been able to identify the suspect. Broadwater was confirmed to be the attacker. She later revealed her identity in court and named him as her attacker. He was not named, and the reason he was included in the lineup is still unknown.
Tim Mucciante was the producer and hired a private investigator to examine the case. He also employed lawyers to appeal the decision.
Myers was a retired detective from Onandago County Sheriff’s Office, which covers Syracuse. Mucciante said that he hired Myers early in the summer.
Myers stated that Tim wanted to know the details of the actual rape as they were filming a movie true to life and certain things didn’t add up.
Because of the inconsistent memoirs, producer Tim Mucciante called Myers to investigate the matter.
“He wanted to know if the rape ever took place.
“Then, as I entered the investigation I discovered that the rape actually took place.
‘I 100% believe it took place and she (Sebold), was the victim.
Sebold named Broadwater her rapist in court, even though she previously identified another man standing beside him in a police line-up months before.
She claimed that the two were identical and that she had mistakenly chosen the wrong man.
Myers replied, “I don’t blame him for what happened.”
“I blame the prosecutor, and the judge for continuing with the case against Anthony, even though she wrongly identified the person. The system is to blame.
Sebold didn’t identify her attacker in the memoir.
Myers stated that Broadwater was named in newspapers from the 1980s. After that, Myers spoke with several contacts in police including one retired Syracuse detective who was implicated in the 1981 incident.
Myers stated, “He shed much light on the investigation.”
Surprisingly, the detective expressed doubts about whether they had arrested the right person.
Myers stated that he told him that he did not believe Anthony Broadwater was responsible for the crime. He said that he could know the person who committed it. He knew the name.
He said, “He felt that this was the wrong person, which he believed for years. And he suggested that I reach out to Anthony to talk with him about it.”
Broadwater was pictured at court Monday. He said that he still cried tears of joy over the exoneration the following day.
Broadwater (61), shook in pain and sobbed as his head was taken from him by Syracuse judge.
Anthony Broadwater, holding a newspaper on his exoneration is seen this week at his house with Timothy Mucciante (producer). Timothy hired the attorneys to represent him in court following suspicions about the case.
Broadwater met Myers at his home. Myers brought Curtis Brown along as a private investigator.
Myers said, “After talking with Anthony, I started walking back towards my car,”
“We looked at one another and decided he wasn’t the right guy.”
He stated that the most important thing that struck him when he was looking at Anthony was that he didn’t have any criminal records.
Given the circumstances, I expected him to have a long record. He’s been in prison for over 20 years without committing any reoffenses.
Sebold described the attack in Lucky, her 1999 memoir. This book was being adapted for Netflix. Broadwater’s innocence was exonerated, so it remains to be seen what the fate of the adaptation.
Myers then reached out to David Hammond of Intrigue Investigations. His office is in the same building.
Myers stated, “I informed him about the most recent developments and that I’d spoken to Anthony,”
“I recommended that the law firm be involved in Anthony’s exoneration. He was aware of the matter. It was a very exciting case for him.
He stated that Anthony was eventually taken to the county clerk’s offices and all transcripts and documentation from the trial were obtained.
Hammond, of CDH Law, and fellow defense lawyer Melissa Swartz, of Cambareri & Brenneck, went through the case and presented it to prosecutors.
Broadwater was released from prison while Myers was in the courtroom gallery
He stated, “I could see Anthony’s release,” “He seemed very content, so I was glad and relieved.
Afterward, he embraced Broadwater.
Myers said, “I told him that I was certain he was innocent since the moment I arrived at his doorstep and interview him,”
He continued, “I recall that the first day I interviewed him I said there were people who would help him.” ‘He didn’t believe me at first. On Monday I reminded him and he giggled.
Monday was one of his best days in his professional career, he said.
“A lot of credit must be given to Tim Mucciante for continuing to push this through,” he stated. He started it all.
Myers expressed hope that police would now open an investigation into 1981’s rape and examine the person Myers shared with them.
Myers explained that it had been closed until Monday. It is possible that the case has been reopened since Anthony was found innocent. They should definitely find this person to interview.
Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones was the book that launched her to literary superstardom
Alice Sebold, a writer of The Lovely Bones about the rape, murder, and sex abuse of teenage girls, was about to finish her novel when she realized she had to stop that project in order for her memoir.
Many years later she stated that Susie Salmon wanted to be her dead narrator in her novel. Lucky would then be her true story on rape.
This memoir, published in 1999 three-years before the publication of her novel, was highly acclaimed by critics.
After it was an instant bestseller, it was The Lovely Bones (2002) that launched her to literary superstardom.
This is the opening line of the novel. My age was fourteen at the time I was assassinated on December 6, 1973.
Susie is a ghostly girl who speaks in her voice after being raped.
Susie shares the horrifying story of her brutal abduction and subsequent murder in the cornfields near her home. She also observes the unfolding events.
It is amazing how her elbow was dismembered and found in the fields in a patch blood. But her body is still missing.
It allows her parents to hope for her survival.
Critics loved the way the book depicted her and her family grieving the loss of their baby.
Michiko Kakutani of the New York Times described it as a deeply moving meditation on how to overcome terrible pain and loss.
However, others found Susie’s unique ability to travel between heavens and Earth an inconvincing plot device.
Familie members see the ghost as she walks around in their houses.
Even better, she enters the body a former school sweetheart who is in love with her.
This novel is extremely popular among teenage girls as well as women.
Joan Smith (an English writer) attacked the novel’s apple-pie sentimentality, calling it sickly sweet.
Philip Hensher, a literary critic, described the book’s contents as “a slick and overpoweringly saccharine exercise in sentiment.”
This novel won the American Booksellers Association Book of the Year Award, Adult Fiction. In 2003 Peter Jackson made it into a movie starring Saoirse Ronan and Susan Sarandon.
One sub-genre within Young Adult Fiction (YA) has been influenced by The Lovely Bones. It is known derogatorily as’sick Lit’ and has remained popular until today.
It’s often fiction about the afterlife, where the protagonists die and are reincarnated in an alternate reality.
Sebold had a profound influence on Stephenie Meyer’s highly successful Twilight Saga. It is a series that features fantasy romance novels.