Lawyers: Key evidence in Cosby case destroyed
PHILADELPHIA — Bill Cosby’s lawyers have accused prosecutors of withholding and destroying evidence they say could have helped the 80-year-old entertainer defend himself against charges he drugged and molested a woman at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004.
Cosby’s lawyers want his criminal sexual assault case dismissed before his April retrial. They say in court papers Thursday prosecutors only recently informed them of an interview last year with a woman who cast doubts on Andrea Constand’s allegations that Cosby drugged and molested her in 2004. They also say detectives destroyed their notes from the interview.
The woman, Marguerite Jackson, said Constand told her of a plan to falsely accuse a “high-profile person” so she could sue and get money.
At Cosby’s first trial, the judge blocked Jackson’s testimony. Jurors failed to reach a verdict at that trial.
Constand’s lawyer said Jackson is lying.