SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – A man convicted of raping, strangling and killing four women in the Springfield area in the late 1990s says he also murdered a fifth woman and left her 22-month-old daughter to starve to death.
Alfred Gaynor's confession was an affidavit filed Tuesday in Hampden Superior Court, seeking a new trial for his nephew who was convicted of killing 20-year-old Amy Smith and her daughter, Destiny.
Paul Fickling is serving two consecutive life sentences for the July 1996 killings.
Gaynor's former lawyer, Linda Thompson, also filed documents saying the 41-year-old suspect confessed the crime to her 10 years ago.
She revealed the information after Gaynor waived attorney-client privileges.
Hampden District Attorney William Bennett declined to comment before reviewing the motion.
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