'Police Misconduct' Leads To Liberty For Murder Suspect

MIAMI - (CBSMiami.com) - It read like a romance novel. But the story of a North Miami Beach detective involved in a relationship with a murder suspect's wife played out in a very real Miami courtroom Tuesday morning.

Police had charged David Superville for second-degree murder in the death of a cell phone salesman in August of 2001. On Tuesday, charges were dropped against Superville because two handwriting experts concluded that the Miranda form had been forged. A jubilant Superville hugged his defense attorneys outside the courtroom and said he was grateful this chapter of his life had finally come to an end.

"I just feel relief," Superville said.

Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Jorge Cueto had some harsh words about the issue.

"I hope there are real serious consequences in this matter," Cueto said in court.

Superville was never accused of being the shooter, instead police had alleged that he had done investigative work to help a hit man identify the victim -- James Duarte.

In 2007, police began asking questions and on numerous occasions North Miami Beach Det. Ed Hill spoke with Superville about his involvement.

Superville was married to a Russian woman Anna Gulevitskaya at the time of his arrest and later Superville found that his bride and Hill had been exchanging romantic emails.

It's a fact that has never been disputed. But how the relationship evolved is portrayed differently by both sides. Defense attorneys said Hill had a lot to gain by Superville's arrest, not just by pursuing a relationship with Gulevitskaya, but also taking over Superville's seal-coating business.

Prosecutors said Hill had tried to turn down Gulevitskaya's advances.

In a recent close-out memo, Assistant State Attorney Matthew Baldwin states that "[Gulevitskaya] confirmed that she in fact persistently pursued Detective Hill, to the point where he had rejected her advances so many times that she thought at one point that he might be gay. While not in any way an excuse for Hill's misconduct or its damning effect on his credibility at our trial, it was clear that the manner in which the Defendant's counsel was framing the issue - - that the motive for the Defendant's arrest stemmed from Hill's intent to become involved with the Defendant's wife - - was at the very least misleading."

However, Superville's defense attorney Andrew Rier said the state's case did not meet criteria needed to bring it to trial.

"I feel confident that even if the Miranda rights waiver form had not been a forgery, which it was, our motion to dismiss would have been granted due to egregious police actions and the state would have failed to meet its burden," Rier said.

Meanwhile, North Miami Beach police Det. Hill remains on the force. He was suspended for three weeks after an internal affairs probe discovered his affair with the suspect's wife.

Miami-Dade State Attorney spokesman Ed Griffith said the issues raised in the state's close-out memo would be handled by the State Attorney's Office public corruption unit.

Earlier in the day, Griffith's office had said North Miami Beach police department's internal affairs unit would handle it.

Meanwhile, Hill's attorney David Macey issued the following statement: "The accusations are outrageous and offensive. Detective Hill will not tolerate any further character assassination. We are confident that the truth will prevail and Detective Hill's good reputation will be restored. There is no statute of limitations for murder. We hope that when the dust settles, David Superville will one day be brought to justice."