The jury deliberated about 50 minutes before finding Heather Specyalski, 33, not guilty. She had been charged with driving Neil Esposito's Mercedes-Benz convertible when it veered off the road and hit several trees, killing him.
The defense said Esposito, a Connecticut businessman, had been driving, and that Specyalski was performing oral sex on him at the time. Paramedics testified his pants were down at the crash scene.
"It's finally over," Specyalski told the Hartford Courant. "There is a weight lifted off my shoulders. I have my whole life in front of me and I just want to get back to being a mom."
The sex act defense rarely surfaced during the trial, but took on a prominent role during Wednesday's closing arguments.
Prosecutor Maureen Platt tried to persuade the jury not to believe the defense; Specyalski's lawyer, Jeremiah Donovan, said the possibility shed doubt on the prosecution's case.
Specyalski would have faced up to 25 years if convicted on charges of second-degree manslaughter, second-degree manslaughter with a motor vehicle and misconduct with a motor vehicle.
State police initially concluded Esposito, 44, was driving at up to 120 mph when his leased Mercedes went out of control Oct. 30, 1999, and crashed. They closed the case.
But Jo McKenzie, Gov. John G. Rowland's longtime aide and political confidant, testified she contacted then-Public Safety Commissioner Henry C. Lee about reopening the case after a member of the Esposito family called her for help. Esposito, who operated a large trash and recycling firm with his father, had supported Rowland's election campaigns.
After Esposito's father, Raymond Esposito, wrote a letter to Lee citing inconsistencies in the first investigation, Specyalski was identified as the driver and arrested in November 2000.
"There are only two people who can tell us if this happened," Donovan said during closing arguments. "Heather can't remember and Neil can't tell us."
Inspiration
