Kirk Osborn, attorney in Duke lacrosse case, dies
The Associated Press
March 25, 2007 3:24 pm
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Kirk Osborn, a lead defense attorney in the Duke lacrosse case, died early Sunday, friends and family said.
Osborn suffered a massive heart attack on Friday and died shortly before 1 a.m. Sunday, said Joe Cheshire, a fellow defense attorney on the Duke lacrosse case.
Cheshire said the entire defense team was "devastated" by the news.
"North Carolina has lost one of its true warriors," Cheshire said.
Osborn represented Reade Seligmann, one of three Duke lacrosse players charged with sexual offense and kidnapping of a stripper hired to perform at a team party in March 2006. All three have steadfastly maintained their innocence.
Motions filed by Osborn included phone records and security camera images showing Seligmann would have been nearly a mile away from the Durham house at the time the woman said he was taking part in the attack.
He also filed a motion to have Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong removed from the case. Osborn argued that Nifong went after the lacrosse players to win votes.
In January, Nifong asked the office of Attorney General Roy Cooper to take over the investigation, after the state bar charged Nifong with several ethics violations tied to his conduct in the lacrosse case. If convicted of the ethics violations, Nifong could be disbarred.
"We will never forget Kirk and his sacrifices for Reade and for justice," Seligmann's family said in a statement. "Kirk's fight for the truth and for justice in this case met the highest standards of ethics and professionalism and stand in stark contrast to those who condemned Reade. He is an example of what a lawyer should be."
In the high-profile Little Rascals case, in which Edenton authorities accused owners and operators of a day care of abuse, Osborn represented an appeal by Kathryn Dawn Wilson. Osborn won a new trial for Wilson and charges against her were eventually dismissed, according to his Web site.
Osborn's wife, Tania Osborn, told The News & Observer of Raleigh that her husband was most proud that he never lost a death penalty case.
Information on funeral services was not immediately available Sunday.
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