Dangerous Liaisons

While Cindy George was trying to get used to living the life of an inmate, her children were at home praying that their mother would be granted a new trial.

George daughter: We just try to pray and believe that hopefully some good outcome will come but we, I mean, we just try to hope for the best.

Victoria Corderi, Dateline correspondent: Can you guys make it through another trial?

George daughter: We made it through one, I’m sure we can make can it through another.

Corderi: George daughter: As a family.

Brad Barbin, a former state and federal prosecutor took on Cindy’s case, knowing full well that most appeals are a long shot.

Brad Barbin: Appeals generally are not fruitful.  You lose appeals all the time.  It’s a fact of life.

But he says Cindy’s trial was so unusual in the way it played out, he had hope the appeals court would not ignore the case.

Barbin: When you have the kind of fact pattern that nobody’s ever seen before and nobody can believe, that’s when you get a retrial. That’s when you get somebody walking out of jail because the evidence just isn’t there. 

The fact pattern? A lawyer’s way of saying that Cindy’s defense team made a lot of mistakes... and so did the judge who decided the case. He says there was no evidence that Cindy was part of a plot to kill Jeff Zack.

Barbin: Affairs do not equal murder.  And no way of twisting this evidence shows that she ever asked anybody to do anything.

Barbin says the defense should never have convinced Cindy to ask for a judge instead of a jury.

Barbin: It’s a circumstantial case.  You have 12 opportunities to convince with a jury.  You have one with a judge.  It’s as simple as math.

Corderi: A judge could move away from the passion and the scandal and the gossip and really just look at the law. Doesn’t that argument hold at all?

Barbin: It doesn’t because it’s a very simple case.  The case comes down to did she ask anyone to do anything for her?  That’s all this case is about.  Or did somebody else do something on his own?  It’s not complicated.  You don’t need a judge for that.  You just need 12 people to listen to the facts.

And he says the judge should have taken Cindy’s defense lawyers off the case when it was revealed that two of them helped funnel the so called hush money to Zaffino’s lawyers. He says in effect Cindy’s own lawyers helped to create evidence that the prosecution  used against her.

Barbin:  A lawyer can’t create evidence against a client and then step away and say, I don’t know what the big deal is here. They’re not allowed to make it worse for the client.          

Cindy’s defense lawyers are, well, defensive about Barbin’s analysis of the case... they would not consent to an on camera interview but told us opting for a judge instead of a jury was something they all agreed on, including their client.

They sent us these statements...

“Ed and Cindy George should thank God for the advice, recommendations and decisions of her trial team.”

“From the beginning, we argued that there was simply no convincing evidence to convict Cynthia George of the charges against her.”

Barbin argued before the Ohio district court of appeals earlier this year...

The detectives who had devoted years to the case did not seem very worried.

Corderi: There’s a chance that this could be sent back for another trial. What would you think about that?

Det. Felber: It’s not a problem.

But that’s not what happened. And they were shocked—big time—at what happened.

Cindy George will not be getting a new trial. In a stunning turnaround, the appeals court  reversed the verdict completely, ruling on only one of the arguments Barbin made. In fact it was the same argument Cindy’s defense attorneys had made at trial—that there was not enough evidence to convict her.

In a 2-to-1 decision, the court wrote:  “What the state failed to prove is why Zaffino killed Zack or that George said or did anything to solicit or procure Zaffino to commit the crime.”

Barbin: The bottom line is we have a big win today.

Attorney Brad Barbin was ecstatic.

Barbin: Nobody wants to let a murderer free. But the reality is, if you look at this evidence, she’s not a murderer and she didn’t ask anybody to do it.

And no one could agree more than the long-suffering husband, Ed George.

Ed George: We’re estatic. It’s fair. It brings the family back together.

He said it was time for second chances for Cindy and for their family.

Ed George: This is emotionally draining, believe me, this is tough. We’ll get it all back together and re-start our life.

Reporter: And you’ve kept the faith from day one?

Ed George:  I never left. I never left, because she was innocent.

But that’s not what prosecutors believed.

Prosecutors: We are shocked at the appellate courts decision to reverse and remand the conviction of Cynthia M. Rohr-George.

And they weren’t giving up. The ruling meant that Cindy George could walk out of prison a free woman. Because of double jeopardy, she could never be tried again for the murder. The prosecutors filed an emergency appeal with a higher court, hoping to have her conviction reinstated. Should they win, Cindy could be sent back to prison, and forced to serve out her original sentence.

Corderi:  So Cindy George has gotten away with murder.  Is that how you see it?

Sherri Bevan Walsh: The appeals are still pending.  So at this point in time, I don’t know that I want to conclude that she’s gotten away with murder.  She’s getting close.

Judge Cosgrove still stands by her verdict. She says this is the first time a reversal like this has ever happened to her.

Judge Patricia A. Cosgrove: It is a case full of firsts, unusual twists and turns.

Corderi: You said you’re not going to criticize the Appellate Court.  But personally, what was your reaction?

Judge Patricia A. Cosgrove: Sure, from a personal point of view, I’ll be honest, I was very disappointed. The fact that they differed from my opinion, I guess that’s what our system is about.

Then two days later, she decided—over the objection of prosecutors—to set Cindy free.

And Brad Barbin was there for her release. He said no matter what happens to Cindy George in the court system, the damage had  already been done.

Barbin: So now she’s got to deal with the emotional baggage of what happened to her. They vilified her.

Moments later, Cindy emerged from jail, emotional but, it appeared, hopeful.

Cindy George(crying in car): I just want to thank everyone that’s helped me, prayed for me. I’m just so thankful to god. I just need to go home...  I just want to go home.

Reporter: What will you say to your family?

Cindy George: Get this house cleaned up.

Two hours later, Cindy George returned to the comfort of her spacious mansion and the loving arms of her family.

So is this scandalous episode really over for Cindy George? Freed for now from criminal court, Cindy George may find it even more difficult to get relief from another... the less forgiving court of public opinion.

Trexler: I think Cindy George is always gonna be a prisoner in her home. In the community, she’s always gonna have that suspicion.  There’s always gonna be whispers.

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