Prosecutors in Westchester County, just north of New York City, announced the identification of two new suspects in the 1996 double murder of an upstate millionaire and his home health aide — a case that has endured through five trials, an overturned conviction, and decades of unanswered questions — while the wrong man spent more than a decade in prison.
Westchester District Attorney Miriam Rocah did not name the suspects but said they are believed to have targeted Archie Harris, a millionaire with a $2 million estate, in a brutal attack inside Harris’ Eastchester mansion nearly three decades ago.
Rocah stated that the motives of the suspects and any connection to the victims are still under investigation while firmly asserting the innocence of Selwyn Days, the man previously charged and convicted in the case.
“An extensive and ongoing investigation was undertaken by my Conviction Review Unit, following a request in 2023, has identified two individuals involved in the murders of Archie Harris and Betty Ramcharan and no connection to Selwyn Days, who was previously charged,” Rocah said, according to the New York Post.
The brutal slayings have haunted the Westchester DA’s Office for decades, remaining one of the most perplexing cases in the state’s history.
Rocah, who did not seek re-election, will hand the case over to incoming District Attorney Susan Cacace, who is set to take office next month.
“As we undergo a change in administration at the DA’s Office this week, it is my hope that these significant developments lead to continuing investigation and action so that justice can be achieved for the families of Mr. Harris and Ms. Ramcharan,” she added.
Selwyn Days, a Mount Vernon resident, emerged as an early suspect after Archie Harris, his home health aide Betty Ramcharan, and Harris’ dog — were discovered brutally beaten and stabbed to death on November 21, 1996.
Days’ mother, Stella Davis, previously worked as Harris’ health care aide and, just months before the murders, had filed a sexual abuse complaint against the 79-year-old millionaire in July 1996, eventually putting Selwyn Days at the center of the investigation.
Days’ involvement began on February 15, 2001, five years after the incident, when Mount Vernon police arrested him for violating an order of protection by contacting his ex-girlfriend.
Later that day, the woman, Cherlyn Mayhew, placed an anonymous call to the police, urging them to consider Days a suspect. She would later claim he had boasted twice about getting away with the killings, according to Lohud.com.
What followed was a grueling interrogation, culminating in a confession only partially captured on video. The final 75 minutes, the sole portion recorded, became a focal point for the defense, which argued detectives fed Days critical details about the crime. The confession, lacking any physical evidence to corroborate it, nevertheless became the prosecution’s centerpiece.
In a dramatic turn at the final trial, the defense called an expert on false confessions who highlighted troubling aspects of the interrogation and Days’ psychological vulnerabilities, raising new questions about the reliability of his admission.
In his confession, Days said he confronted Harris about the abuse, claiming he acted to defend his mother’s honor.
However, Days’ first trial ended in a hung jury in December 2003, marking the beginning of five trials.
Days maintained his innocence, telling a judge in 2004, “I didn’t commit this crime. I don’t know who did. … I don’t know nothing about it.”
Nonetheless, he was convicted of second-degree murder in April 2004 and sentenced to 50 years to life in prison, but the conviction was overturned on December 31, 2009.
Days’ third trial ended in a hung jury in March 2011, but a fourth trial resulted in a conviction seven months later, with another 50-years-to-life sentence.
However, that conviction was overturned by a state appellate court, leading to a fifth trial in 2017, where Days was acquitted on all charges.
Days spent a total of 16 consecutive years in prison before his exoneration, leaving the case cold once again. His lawyer, Glenn Garber, thinks it’s high time his client’s name is cleared.
“He is truly innocent, and it’s important to fully put this matter to rest,” Garber said.
On Monday, prosecutors revealed the identification of new suspects but offered no additional details.
