On the evening of 11/12/2012, 38-year-old Ganesh "Remy" Ramsaran reported his wife, Jennifer, missing after she supposedly went shopping in Syracuse, New York, over 90 km from their home.
"My wife left home around 10-11 a.m. this morning… and she hasn't returned. I'm very worried. She's never done this before, and none of our friends have heard from her," Remy told the 911 dispatcher.
A body discovered in a remote location
The following day, with Jennifer still missing, Remy went to the police station to file a report. He then used the Find My iPhone app, which led him to a location over 30 km from the city center. Police searched the area but found nothing.
Unsatisfied, Remy searched himself and found his wife's undamaged iPhone. He told police he discovered it in a wooded area near a bridge in Plymouth.
Uncertain whether Jennifer had discarded the phone or been harmed, the police initially treated it as a missing person case.
On 16/12, Jennifer's father found her red Chrysler minivan abandoned in the parking lot of an apartment complex, over 12 km from their home. Bloodstains inside raised suspicions of foul play.
These fears were confirmed on 26/2/2013, when Jennifer's naked body was found at the bottom of an embankment along a remote road in Pharsalia. The body was so decomposed that the medical examiner couldn't determine the exact cause of death, but it was ruled a homicide.
A secret affair revealed
Jennifer and Remy had been together since college, but after 13 years of marriage, cracks began to appear. Jennifer, a 36-year-old stay-at-home mother of three, became immersed in online role-playing games.
Remy initially told police he suspected his wife was having an affair and had met with another man. However, the police found no evidence of such a relationship; Jennifer's only close online interaction was with another gamer in England.
Remy's own secret was far more shocking. He was having an affair with Jennifer's close friend, Eileen Sayles. They had been intimate the day before Jennifer disappeared, but afterward, Eileen, consumed by guilt, wanted to end the affair. She said Remy was upset, angry, and refused to accept her decision.
 |
Ganesh "Remy" Ramsaran and his wife, Jennifer. Photo: NBC |
Ganesh "Remy" Ramsaran and his wife, Jennifer. Photo: NBC
Eileen's revelation led detectives to scrutinize Remy. They were suspicious of how he had "found" Jennifer's phone and believed he was trying to control the narrative by frequently appearing in the media.
Detectives also questioned Remy's alibi. He claimed to have gone jogging after Jennifer left for shopping, but surveillance footage didn't show him on his stated route; he only appeared later at a gym.
Investigators found blood on the couple's mattress and on the sweatshirt Remy wore that day. They theorized that on 11/12/2012, Remy dropped his children off at school and returned home around 8:15 a.m. Jennifer was still in bed, playing games. Remy struck her with a blunt object, moved her body to the minivan, and drove off to dispose of it. He abandoned the vehicle and Jennifer's phone, then jogged to the gym around 1 p.m. to establish an alibi.
Based primarily on circumstantial evidence, Remy was arrested and charged with second-degree murder on 17/5/2013.
The 'perfect life' of an adulterer
In an interview shortly after his arrest, Remy claimed he had no reason to kill his wife.
"I had a perfect life: a wife, a girlfriend, children. I had everything anyone could want. People have affairs all the time, and they don't end up killing their wives," Remy said, maintaining his innocence.
 |
Ganesh "Remy" Ramsaran in court in 2014. Photo: Ashley Biviano |
Ganesh "Remy" Ramsaran in court in 2014. Photo: Ashley Biviano
The case went to trial in September 2014. Remy's friend testified that Remy had discussed divorcing his wife but insisted Jennifer would never get custody of the children, a possible motive.
The prosecution argued that Remy wanted to be free of his wife to pursue his relationship with Eileen. Furthermore, before Jennifer's death, Remy had purchased a $200,000 life insurance policy on her through his employer.
Remy was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. However, the story didn't end there.
Conviction overturned due to 'ineffective' counsel
In October 2022, a judge overturned the murder conviction, concluding that Remy had received ineffective counsel. The judge found that Remy's former lawyer, Gilberto Garcia, had made "serious and prejudicial" errors that prevented a fair trial. Garcia, who had never handled a murder case before, was hired by Remy's father on a friend's recommendation for $120,000.
Garcia reportedly used Google to decipher basic forensic issues, took questions directly from a foreign website, and even told the jury during his closing argument that he himself had questioned Remy's innocence "a million times."
Remy's new lawyer, David Hammond, stated that Garcia never contacted any expert witnesses and failed to prepare Remy for his own testimony. "Gilberto Garcia loved to talk, but he was directionless, asking unclear questions. His cross-examination was a complete disaster," Hammond said.
Even the original prosecutor, Ben Bergman, agreed that Remy deserved a new trial. "I have never seen or heard of such ineptitude," he stated.
Garcia declined to comment on the criticism but said he respected the court's decision.
A guilty plea to manslaughter
Despite supporting a retrial, the prosecution remained convinced of Remy's guilt. Bergman uncovered new evidence, including voicemails Jennifer left for her online gaming friend on the day of the murder, indicating she had no plans to go shopping. However, the prosecution also faced setbacks; the original detective and a key witness had passed away.
Meanwhile, Remy's new defense team claimed they had evidence pointing to another perpetrator. They hired a forensic expert whose report revealed an unknown male's DNA under Jennifer's fingernails.
However, instead of risking another trial, Remy pleaded guilty to manslaughter in 2023 in exchange for a 22-year sentence and waived his right to appeal. His lawyers believed that with good behavior, he could be released in eight and a half years.
Jennifer's parents agreed to the plea deal because they wanted "him to go into a courtroom and say he was guilty," more than they wanted a longer sentence.
In a later interview, Remy said he only pleaded guilty because it was "the smartest thing to do legally." He didn't want to be like some inmates he had met who maintained their innocence while remaining incarcerated for decades. "I'm innocent. Always have been," Remy claimed.
But according to Bergman, "He pleaded guilty, under oath, because he is guilty. I don't believe anyone truly innocent would plead guilty to killing the mother of his children."
Tue Anh (According to Oxygen, NBC)
