Why Were the Norfolk Four Convicted?

In 1997, the tabloids were full of speculation and a public outcry started to swell. Many people wanted to figure out the culprits of a gruesome rape and murder that happened that year and when The Norfolk Four were arrested, it seemed on the surface that they had their answer and everyone could sleep peaceful that night.

However, since that time, it has been found that The Norfolk Four were wrongfully convicted and were not the ones who committed the murders. But why were these four young men arrested in the first place and what were the facts that led to their conviction as well?

The Interrogation

IN 1997, Eric Wilson, Joseph Dick, Jr. , Danial Williams, and Derek Tice were all wrongfully convicted of a murder and rape that occurred in 1997. They were given the name of The Norfolk Four at this time. The reason that they were all convicted for this crime was due to false confessions they had given afterwards.

Evidence later came out to point to a lone killer who was responsible for the crime, but that didn’t stop the four men from going to jail for it. The reason for this was due to high-pressure interrogation tactics that were used by the police at that time. These tactics included the death penalty for these young men and a lie detector test under false pretenses.

Despite the confessions that were given, the details provided by the four men never matched the crime scene at all, making it very questionable that they were even there, much less that they had committed the murder and rape. In addition, each of the four members of The Norfolk Four gave a different confession from one another. And once the real killer was found, his confession was so far off from the confessions of the Norfolk Four, that it is a miracle that these four were convicted at all.

The Exoneration of the Norfolk Four

As time went on, more DNA evidence was used to help figure out who actually committed these murders. All of the forensic evidence and DNA found on the scene were linked back to Omar Ballard, a man who was not part of the Norfolk Four. Ballard had also given a confession that matched up better with the physical evidence that was on the scene. Due to these facts, Ballard is now serving a life sentence. While under oath, he swore that he was the only one who committed the crime and he had no outside help.

Relief was slow for those wrongly convicted for the crime. While all of this happened in 1997, it took until 2009 for three for the four men in this group to get released. Tim Kaine, the governor at the time, provided them with conditional pardons, but they still had to register as felons and sex offenders. Eric Wilson was not released because he had served the entirety of his sentence. It wasn’t until 2016 when a federal judge vacated the convictions of Danial Williams and Joseph Dick because they were found innocent of the crimes.

Article written by Rene Taylor. Her work can be found on Politico, the Council on Foreign Relations, and Dominion.

True Crime Mystery: The Story of the Norfolk Four

It is hardly possible to discuss the savage nature of the American justice system without mentioning the 1997 Norfolk Four murder and rape case. The story of the Norfolk Four is a typical example of a travesty of justice marked by extensive abuse of power, extreme police brutality, and unimaginable psychological exploitation that led four innocent men to confess to a crime they never committed.


At a time when sophisticated methods of solving crime like DNA analysis were already in use, it’s hard to imagine that the criminal investigators of this crime would make such a gruesome mistake in justice administration.


This article sheds light on the circumstances surrounding the rape and murder of Michelle Moore-Bosko based on the police investigation, forensic examination, and testimony of the key witness in the case.
On the day of the murder, Michelle’s husband, William Bosco, discovered her body in their bedroom on his return home from Navy duty. She was lying on the floor in the supine position with several stab wounds on her chest.


During the investigation, forensics noted very few signs of a struggle in the apartment. They noted that, based on the apartment’s neatness, the culprit was someone Michelle knew and had probably invited into her home. It, therefore, beats logic that this was a gang rape case.


Furthermore, only one person’s DNA was found on the victim’s body, while the twelve fingerprints obtained belonged to Michelle and the criminal. The autopsy report showed that only one person was involved in the rape and murder of the young woman. So why were four men incarcerated for a crime committed by one man?


The forensic analysis further indicated that the criminal had not carried a weapon. He took the knife he used to stab Michelle from the kitchen. No witnesses in the apartment saw or heard a group of men in the neighborhood before the crime occurred. So what led the police to believe that four men had assaulted Michelle?


Tamika Taylor was Michelle’s best friend and the main informant on the case. It is worth noting that among the men that Tamika mentioned to the police as suspects included the actual criminal, Omar Ballard.


Tamika told the police that Ballard had recently been arrested for battering a woman in the apartment building where they lived in. Tamika had introduced Michelle and William Bosco to Ballard a few weeks before the murder. Since Tamika spent a lot of time with Michelle in her house, Ballard would frequently visit Michelle to find Tamika.


It is possible that by the time of the murder, Michelle had built enough trust in Ballard as a friend to let him into the house. It is also possible that although the man did not initially intend to kill Michelle, he found an opportunity to rape Michelle that day and consequently murder her to prevent her from reporting him to the authorities.


During the investigation, the police ignored Tamika’s tip on Ballard and instead focused on the Norfolk four, although they did not have any concrete evidence against them. Were they trying to cover up his crime or was it a genuine oversight?

The Trial, Conviction, Appeals, and Release

The police presented Eric Wilson and Derik Tice in court for the murder. A jury found them guilty based on their coerced confessions. 

The other two, Danial Williams and Joseph Dick took plea deals that saw them accept life in prison. 

After they were convicted, they started looking for ways to get free. Applications for appeal and retrials were their favorite methods. 

They made many applications for their case to get reviewed without success.

However, they did not give up their pursuit of freedom. 

Wilson served his entire sentence and got released in 2003. Tice appealed but was convicted again by a jury and handed two life sentences. 

Pardons

After several years in prison for a crime, they did not commit, pro Bono lawyers from three Virginia law firms heard of the Norfolk Four. In collaboration with other legal service providers, they started to work on their release and pardons. 

They appealed to the state Governor to pardon the Norfolk Four for the wrong they suffered. It took a while before their efforts started bearing fruit. 

In 2009, after Wilson had served his sentence and was already out of prison, Derik Tice, Danial Williams, and Joseph J Dick Jr were granted conditional pardons by the then-Governor Tim Kaine. Consequently, they got released.

However, the conditional pardon meant they were still registered sex offenders with limited rights to work, association, and movement within society.

In 2017, a Virginia court judge ruled that the four were innocent of the crimes they got convicted of. As a result, they got full pardons. Additionally, they stopped registering as sex offenders.

In December 2018, the City of Norfolk, Virginia, agreed to pay $4.9 million to the Norfolk Four for the pain and suffering they endured for their wrongful conviction. 

With the settlement and full pardons, they can now live without the stigma hanging over their heads.

What Happened in 1997?

Bill Bosko, a US Navy sailor, had been at sea for a week when he returned home to the ghastly sight of his murdered wife. 

He ran to a neighboring house and told them what he had just seen at home. The neighbor helped him call the police to report the crime. 

When the Norfolk Police arrived at the apartment, they took the body away, and investigations commenced. 

They discovered that Michelle Moore Bosko, Bill Bosko’s wife, had been raped, stabbed several times, and strangled to death the previous night.

Further, investigations revealed that there wasn’t much of a struggle in the apartment. They also found out that the culprit didn’t break into the house to commit the murder. 

As the investigations continued, over eight men were arrested and questioned. Later, five were arraigned in court as the main suspects in the crime and convicted for it. 

Four of these men were Joseph J. Dick Jr, Eric Wilson, Derek Tice, and Danial Williams, who later became the Norfolk Four. 

In addition to the Norfolk Four, another man who got convicted of the crime after his DNA matched that on the body is known as Omar Ballad. He received a 100-year prison sentence for the rape and murder of Michelle Moore Bosko.

Why Did the Norfolk Four Confess To A Crime They Did Not Commit?

The main reason why the four young Navy sailors confessed to a crime they did not commit was fear. 

The detectives investigating the case threatened them with the death penalty if they did not confess. 

Another reason they confessed to a crime they did not commit is the mental torture from the long and harsh interrogation by the police. 

A confession was the only way they could see an end to the ten-hour ordeal they experienced at the hands of the Norfolk Police detectives. 

Who Killed Michelle Moore-Basko?

Omar Ballard, a criminal and rapist, confessed to killing Michelle Moore-Basko when he was in jail for the rape of a fourteen-year-old girl. 

Following the admittance of guilt and subsequent confirmation of DNA at the crime scene, he was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for both crimes. 

In February 1999, about eight months after the murder, Omar Ballard sent a threatening letter to a female acquaintance from prison. 

In the letter, he mentioned that he had killed Michelle. It was after the police got the letter that they started investigating him.  

Upon interrogation of the murder of Michelle, he confessed to doing it on his own. His confession aligned with the conclusions the police had made during the investigation, and he did not testify against or implicate the Norfolk Four.

Who are the Norfolk Four?

The Norfolk Four are a group of four members of the US Navy who suffered a miscarriage of justice by their conviction for rape and murder in 1997. The Norfolk Four moniker came about when they worked at the Navy base in Norfolk, Florida. 

Shoddy investigations by the police led to false confessions that saw them incarcerated for a decade. 

While the person who committed the crime was arrested and charged, the Norfolk four wasted their life in prison for a crime they did not commit.

Danial Williams

Danial Williams was the first of the four men to get arrested. 

A friend of Michelle mentioned to the police that Williams was obsessed with the murdered woman. Williams also lived in the same apartment with his newly wedded wife. 

He was immediately arrested and taken to the police station for questioning. 

The Norfolk detectives interrogated Williams for over 10 hours until he caved and confessed to committing the murder. 

Later on, Williams recanted his confession. He said the prolonged interrogation made him feel harassed, humiliated, and convinced he was a criminal.

For the torture and threats of the death sentence to end, all he had to do was confess.

With his confession on record, Danial Williams was indicted and arraigned in court in August 1997. 

The Norfolk police did not collect additional corroborating evidence such as DNA or search William’s house for the murder weapon or bloody clothes to show in court. At the time, the confession was all they required. 

Months after the case had commenced in court, the police discovered that William’s DNA did not match the perpetrator. 

However, they kept the information secret and let the case against Danial Williams continue.

When Danial William and his lawyers discovered that the DNA did not match, the police and prosecution offered them a plea bargain, which they refused. 

Consequently, the police realized they needed a new suspect as they did not have concrete evidence against Danial William. It led to the arrest of Joe Dick. 

He was not released and was still in court as a suspect.

Joseph J Dick Jr.

Joseph J Dick Jr, or Joe, was Danial William’s roommate and a fellow sailor. These circumstances led to his arrest. 

At questioning, Dick had an alibi. He said he was on duty at the ship at the time of the murder. 

However, the police did not believe him. Also, they did not investigate the alibi further. They did not check with the Navy base for records of whether Dick was on duty that night. 

Like Danial Williams before him, Joseph J Dick Jr was also questioned for hours until he confessed to the crime and charges instituted against him. 

The police presented him in court as the new suspect in the murder of Michelle Moore. The prosecution relied on the confession and the assertion that he was not on duty at the ship.

Fortunately for him, and unfortunately for the police, eleven weeks after his arrest, the DNA test confirmed that Joe Dick’s DNA did not match the perpetrator. 

He was not released and went on to get convicted.

Eric Wilson

With William and Joe now off the hook, the police needed new suspects. 

Therefore, they coerced Joe Dick to provide them with the names of other suspects. 

One of the men he mentioned was Eric Wilson. However, this time, the police conducted a somewhat deeper investigation, as they ruled Wilson out since his DNA did not match that at the crime scene. 

However, he was still tried and convicted for the crime. 

Eric Wilson was also a Navy officer.

Derik Tice

Another suspect provided to the police was Derik Tice. Joe Dick picked him from army officer photos and claimed he was also involved in the rape and murder of Michelle Moore. 

At the time, Derik lived in Florida, and the Norfolk police went to arrest him at his home.

Like the other three men before him, Derik Tice was interrogated for over ten hours and eventually admitted to the crime to end the torture. 

However, a DNA test also ruled out Derik Tice as the culprit. 

Four additional suspects in the crime were arrested but did not confess and got released before getting to court. 

These four innocent men got prosecuted and convicted for a crime they did not commit.