Appeals court upholds Westchester murder conviction

WHITE PLAINS – The Appellate Division of State Supreme Court has affirmed the murder conviction of a former Westchester County man in the death of a woman in 2012.
Lucius Crawford, now 68, was convicted by a jury of killing Tonya Simmons of Mount Vernon. She was stabbed 31 times and found dead in Crawford’s bed.
In Crawford’s appeal of his conviction and sentence of 25 years to life in prison, he maintained his statements to law enforcement officials should have been suppressed.
The appeals court agreed since Crawford made certain comments prior to being given his Miranda warnings. But, the appellate court decision stated that “the error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt, since the evidence of the defendant’s guilty, without reference to the error, was overwhelming, and there is no reasonable possibility that the error might have contributed to the defendant’s conviction.”