More information has come to light in the case involving the fatal beating and rape of homeless woman Lucianna Polly. in an exclusive interview, PNC speaks with the sister of murder suspect Katner Herry.
The body of homeless woman Lucianna Polly was discovered in an area where the neighborhood children play and just before sunset on Jan. 25, the sounds of children’s screams filled the air as they discovered Polly’s body.
Someone had raped and beaten her to death. Her shirt was up over her head and arm, and she had no bottom attire. Police say Katner Herry is responsible, but his sister says they are wrong.
“We pretty much all grew up together,” says Tesseran Herry, recalling that she and Katner grew up with Polly. Polly is their cousin on their father’s side.
“Information about the case indicates that Katner doesn’t speak Chuukese so what police say he said on the day he was arrested is not possible,” Tesseran said.
Tesseran added that Katner has no motive and believes her brother was coerced into confessing.
“I don’t know what evidence they have against my brother, why is he even in there, or maybe because of what he said. But I really don’t know,” Tesseran said.
Despite police saying he fessed up, Katner entered not guilty pleas to murder and rape charges.
But Tesseran isn’t the only person who believes Katner is innocent. PNC has obtained information indicating that the investigation may not have been thorough.
When police arrived at Katner’s Barrigada residence, the doorknob was bloodied and his knuckles had marks and bruising. Tesseran says the blood was not Polly’s but instead came from an altercation at their home involving her cousins.
“Where did that blood come from? Did they ever test that blood or collect samples? No! That’s why we said why don’t they take the DNA so they can say whose blood it is,” Tesseran said.
Shortly after Katner was taken to GPD’s Tiyan headquarters to be questioned, he was identified as the primary suspect. Police reported that Katner was seen with Polly the day she died. The two were together earlier that day. Images of them were captured on surveillance video although they had parted ways afterward.
Information obtained regarding the investigation reportedly shows that a Benson employee had walked past Ramirez Street the morning that Lucy was found dead but the employee did not see her body in the brush, strongly suggesting that Lucy was dumped there long after Katner was already home.
The sister says it couldn’t have been her brother and says information obtained points to the possibility of the killer still being on the loose.
Information regarding the investigation mentions Lucy’s ex-boyfriend — a man who was violent with Lucy in the past.
“There’s only one boyfriend that I know she went out with … he’s Yapese. That’s the one that she told us gave her that scar on her forehead,” Tesseran said.
According to the information, police questioned Polly’s ex-boyfriend about his whereabouts but didn’t follow through with validating his alibi.
“They did not get the cellphone records or triangulate the location history during the period in question,” Tesseran said.
Unlike Katner, the ex-boyfriend reportedly has a criminal record.
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