FRAMINGHAM, MASS. (WHDH) - Lawyers delivered opening statements in the case against Stephen Paul Gale, who pleaded not guilty to charges including rape, kidnapping, and armed robbery.
Prosecutors laid out details of the alleged crime that took place on December 27, 1989 at a store in the Shoppers World Plaza in Framingham.
Gale was allegedly armed when he demanded the women to hand over cash from the store’s register. Prosecutors say he forced them into seperate rooms where he sexually assaulted them at gunpoint. They say he managed to escape and run for help to a nearby home.
Investigators collected DNA evidence at the time, but it wasn’t until advances in forensic testing decades later that they were able to connect Gale to the case.
The prosecutor explained that one of the survivors managed to hold onto critical DNA evidence, wrapping it in a tissue after all these years.
“The commonwealth will prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Stephen Paul Gale, the defendant, that man was the man who walked into that hit or miss store on December, 27 1989, and committed those aggravated rapes, kidnappings, and armed robbery,” Katharine Folger said, Assistant Middlesex County District Attorney. “I will stand before you at the end of this case, and based on all of the evidence that was presented, I will ask that you find the defendant guilty.”
“Don’t rush to judgement. ADA Folger just told you a story. A one-sided story, as we always know there’s two sides to a story. As this trial unfolds over the next week or two, you’re going to get to hear both sides of the story. It’s not a simple and straightforward as the commonwealth, as ADA Folger wants you to believe. It’s much more complex. As the judge indicated, judge Hagan, by the way is the judge of the law, and you are the judge of the facts. The commonwealth has the burden of proof, and the burden never ever, ever, gives Mr. Gale. He doesn’t have to do anything. He’s presumed to be innocent throughout the entirety of the trial,” Debra Dewitt said, defense attorney.
The survivor who collected the evidence later took the stand.
“He said I have a 357 pointed at you, don’t do anything stupid or I’ll blow you away,” she said.
Dewitt cautioned the jury about the reliability of DNA testing.
“DNA evidence is strong evidence but its not infallible, because nothing is totally infallible,” Dewitt said. “There isa weakness in this DNA evidence.”
Investigators say Gale was identified through DNA testing in 2024. The Middlesex DA released his photo in an effort to track him down. Months later, investigators learned he was living on a yacht in California.
Police say when officers tried to arrest him, he drove off and led them on an hour and a half long chase through L.A. before he eventually was taken into custody.
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