Werzberger murder • "He told me he was there" • Detective talks

The story of the incredible acquittal of David Renta, who was convicted of the murder of Rabbi Yechezkel Werzberger hy"d - Shamash of the Beis Midrash of Satmar in Williamsburg - and was jailed for 23 years for no fault, continues to engage the American media, which deals with the question: Who is responsible for the failure of Renta's conviction?

Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes, stood by the Satmar Hassidim who cried during the funeral procession, and vowed to prosecute the killer. Soon after, four detectives worked on the case intensively. They acted on the orders of Louis Skarsela, retired detective, and not long after they arrested a print employee, unemployed and drug addict, named David Renta.

But a few weeks ago, Skarsela was summoned to the prosecutor's office in Brooklyn, where he was told that some problems were discovered in the investigation that may lead to the release of David Renta. At the same time he remembered the investigation he conducted 23 years ago. "We come from the same neighborhood," I said then Renta. "We're both Italian. Why not take it down from your heart?"

This week, after the Renta's release, Skarsela has no regrets. "I stand behind my decision," he said in an interview with the news agency AP. "I did my job and that's what I had to do. I sleep well at night."

The retired detective said that there were many instances where he needed to take admission from the person interrogated. "They gave me cases where there was no chance to talk with the suspect and I got a confession."

On 8 February 1990, Skarsela and other detectives in the New York police received notice about the murder of Rabbi Yechezkel Werzberger. Later, investigators determined that the murder was part of a diamond robbery which failed. They received the name of David Renta, and after a few days Skarsela had him arrested. "He told me he was there," the detective reviews the inquiry. "He did not say he shot him, but he admitted himself that he was involved in the murder."

In 2011 there was a turnaround in the case after the witnesses who testified in the case turned 180 degrees. "I would deserve death penalty if I did not act as I did," says Skarsela, and makes it clear that he does not have anything bad to say about Renta however, "I am doing well with my past."

Since Renta's release, the retired detective received death threats and threats of lawsuits. "Being a homicide detective of the NYPD is the best job I had. I would go back to the role in a moment."

'בחדרי' גם ברשתות החברתיות - הצטרפו!