《中英對照讀新聞》Police：Man who claimed to find Christie Mullins was her killer 40 years ago 警方：40年前發現克莉絲蒂．穆林斯的男子就是殺人兇手

◎張沛元

Henry H. Newell Jr. was right there in the thick of it from the very beginning.

亨利．Ｈ．紐威爾二世從一開始就牽涉其中。

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It was Newell who claimed to have seen the killer of 14-year-old Christie Mullins wielding a board behind Graceland Shopping Center in Columbus, OH on Aug. 23, 1975.

紐威爾宣稱1975年8月23日在（美國）俄亥俄州哥倫布市的葛莉絲蘭購物中心後方，看到殺害14歲的克莉絲蒂．穆林斯的兇手揮舞木板。

It was Newell, then 25, who claimed to have found the girl’s battered body as the killer ran off, triggering a murder investigation that rattled Clintonville and devastated Mullins’ family.

當年25歲的紐威爾宣稱，在兇手逃走後發現這女孩被活活打死的屍體，就此揭開令克林頓維爾地區為之驚恐、穆林斯家屬深感痛苦的謀殺調查。

And it was Newell who helped to direct the blame onto Jack Carmen, a developmentally disabled man who would be charged with Mullins’ murder and spend two years under intense scrutiny and behind bars, until he was acquitted at trial in 1977.

協助將殺人罪行歸咎於有發展障礙、被控殺害穆林斯，並在嚴密監控下被關了2年，直到1977年才無罪開釋的傑克．卡曼的，也是紐威爾。

On Friday, more than 40 years after Mullins was killed, Columbus police said with confidence what they conceded could have been said long ago： It was Newell who killed Christie Mullins.

在穆林斯遇害40多年後的週五，哥倫布警方充滿信心地說出他們可以早點坦承的結論：殺害克莉絲蒂．穆林斯的人就是紐威爾。

Eric Pilya, Sgt. of the homicide cold-case unit said police had enough evidence to charge Newell, but it no longer mattered. He died of cancer in 2013.

謀殺懸案組的艾瑞克．皮亞警官說，警方曾有足夠證據控告紐威爾，但這已經不重要了。他（紐威爾）在2013年死於癌症。

中英對照

in the thick of something：慣用語，完全參與某活動或涉及某情況。例句：She didn’t want to have anything to do with planning the New Year party at first, but now she’s in the thick of it now.（她起先不想與策劃新年趴有任何瓜葛，但她現在已徹底參與其中。）

run off：慣用語，逃跑。例句：Some naughty kids rang our doorbell and then ran off.（一些頑皮的小鬼按了我家的門鈴後就跑了。）

acquit：動詞，宣告…無罪，無罪釋放。