By M. William Phelps
Cynthia George was released from prison last year after an appeals court in Ohio overturned her guilty verdict in the murder of her former lover, Jeff Zack, who was shot in the face in June 2001 while sitting in his SUV at an Akron, Ohio BJ's Wholesale Warehouse Club fuel station. John Zaffino, Cynthia's other lover, was convicted of the murder and is serving a life sentence. People closely connected to the case are sick over Cynthia's release. Many in Ohio view it as "money can buy you freedom ..." Cynthia is married to a very wealthy restaurateur, Ed George. They live in a mansion outside Akron. They have seven children--one of whom is Jeff Zack's, the dead lover.
For whatever reason, John Zaffino has never come forward and said that Cynthia was involved with him in this crime. But then, Zaffino has never admitted that he actually murdered Jeff Zack, so we have a situation where a murderer would have to admit his role first in order to point a finger at his former lover. I expect that to happen after all of Zaffino’s appeals have been exhausted.
For me, writing the book, IF LOOKS COULD KILL, about this case proved that in the context of a prosecution’s case based almost entirely on circumstantial evidence, there is no better proof of a conspiracy to commit murder than the circumstances surrounding that crime. In other words, people can lie. Witnesses can walk into court and lie about what they've seen or heard. Circumstances, on the other hand, almost never lie. They are what they are. Think about it for a moment. Two people walk into a room. One walks out with blood on his hands. The other is dead. Is there any question regarding who caused the death? No. The question, instead, becomes, Was it murder? The circumstances certainly point to murder, but it is the prosecution’s job to then put together a case to prove as much.
Cynthia George was released from prison last year after an appeals court in Ohio overturned her guilty verdict in the murder of her former lover, Jeff Zack, who was shot in the face in June 2001 while sitting in his SUV at an Akron, Ohio BJ's Wholesale Warehouse Club fuel station. John Zaffino, Cynthia's other lover, was convicted of the murder and is serving a life sentence. People closely connected to the case are sick over Cynthia's release. Many in Ohio view it as "money can buy you freedom ..." Cynthia is married to a very wealthy restaurateur, Ed George. They live in a mansion outside Akron. They have seven children--one of whom is Jeff Zack's, the dead lover.
For whatever reason, John Zaffino has never come forward and said that Cynthia was involved with him in this crime. But then, Zaffino has never admitted that he actually murdered Jeff Zack, so we have a situation where a murderer would have to admit his role first in order to point a finger at his former lover. I expect that to happen after all of Zaffino’s appeals have been exhausted.
For me, writing the book, IF LOOKS COULD KILL, about this case proved that in the context of a prosecution’s case based almost entirely on circumstantial evidence, there is no better proof of a conspiracy to commit murder than the circumstances surrounding that crime. In other words, people can lie. Witnesses can walk into court and lie about what they've seen or heard. Circumstances, on the other hand, almost never lie. They are what they are. Think about it for a moment. Two people walk into a room. One walks out with blood on his hands. The other is dead. Is there any question regarding who caused the death? No. The question, instead, becomes, Was it murder? The circumstances certainly point to murder, but it is the prosecution’s job to then put together a case to prove as much.
In this case, it's harder for me to believe that Cynthia George did not have anything to do with this crime than it is to believe she did. I hope that is clear. There's no smoking gun with her prints on it; but there is a truckload of evidence pointing to her knowledge of and participation in this crime before it took place.
In this book, I think I present a fairly solid case to back up that opinion. But Cynthia is a free woman. She was found to be, essentially in the end, not guilty. And the sad part of it all is, Cynthia George, like OJ Simpson, can now admit to a murder and never be tried for it again.
In this book, I think I present a fairly solid case to back up that opinion. But Cynthia is a free woman. She was found to be, essentially in the end, not guilty. And the sad part of it all is, Cynthia George, like OJ Simpson, can now admit to a murder and never be tried for it again.
