When Thomas and Raymond Highers were found guilty of killing Robert Karey, their lawyer, Kevin Zieleniewski, knew he had to do something.
Kevin lived in Detroit, Michigan, when Robert was killed. He remembered that his old roommate John Hielscher had said he was there the night of the tragedy. In “Dateline: Graduation Night,” viewers learn about the horrible murder and how Kevin and John helped with the investigation.
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Who Are Kevin Zieleniewski and John Hielscher?
Robert Karey was a well-known drug dealer in Detroit, Michigan. On June 26, 1987, a shotgun was used to kill him at his own home. Around that time, Kevin was going to law school in Detroit, and he and John Hielscher used to share a room. Kevin found out soon after Robert was killed that his roommate was at the victim’s house that night because he wanted to buy some marijuana. But John said that just as they were about to ask for the drug, they saw a group of black people, including two people with guns, walk up to the house’s back door. That’s when they gave up on their plan to get drugs and ran away quickly. John and his friends were running away when they heard two loud shotgun blasts. After that, everything went quiet. But neither John nor Kevin told the police what they saw during the first murder investigation. Instead, they kept their information to themselves.
Thomas Culberson, another eyewitness, stepped forward and said that he saw two white men running away from the scene of the murder soon after it happened. Also, a man named Jamie Lawrence told the police that he had heard Thomas Highers talk about robbing and killing Robert Karey. This seemed to be another big break for the police. Jamie also said that Thomas and his brother Raymond Highers owed the victim money, which would have given them a reason to kill him.
When the police questioned Thomas and Raymond Highers, they said they were innocent and had nothing to do with what happened. But Thomas Culberson chose Raymond from a group of photos and said that he was the one who was seen clearly running away from the crime scene. So, because the witness statements were so clear, the police arrested the Highers brother and charged them with first-degree murder, assault with the intent to kill, and having a gun while committing a crime. Thomas and Raymond pleaded not guilty when they went to court, but they were found guilty on all counts in the end. In 1988, they were sentenced to life in prison without the chance of parole for first-degree murder, plus a few extra years for the other crimes. After that, no matter how many petitions or motions were filed, the law would not change the convictions.
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Where Are Kevin Zieleniewski and John Hielscher Today?
Kevin Zieleniewski got involved in the case in 2009, when he read about it on Facebook and found out that Thomas and Raymond had been found guilty. He saw that the two people in jail were white, but he remembered that his roommate John had talked about black people with guns. Then Kevin called John and tried to get him to testify on the brother’s behalf. The show says that John wasn’t sure at first if he should testify, but he soon made up his mind to stand up for what was right. They took their evidence to the defense lawyer for the Highers brothers, and the lawyers quickly filed a motion for a new trial.
At the hearing for the motion, both John and another person named James Gianunzio said they had seen armed black men walk up to Robert’s door before the shotgun went off. Based on the testimony, the judge eventually agreed to a new trial. Tomas and Raymond Highers were released on bond in 2012, but the prosecution dropped all charges against them in 2013.
Since then, John Hielscher has chosen to live a private life and isn’t very active on social media. This makes it hard to know where he is now. On the other hand, Kevin Zieleniewski seems to live and work as an attorney in Washington, D.C., at the moment. Readers might find it interesting to know that Kevin went on the show “Dateline” and talked about how he helped the Highers brothers clear their names.
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