Murder Victim’s Family Determined To Overturn Killer’s Extradition Denial

The family of the victim in a Wall Township murder almost a half-century ago absorbs Portugal's rejection of a request by U.S. officials to extradite his killer, but continues to fight to bring the convict to justice.

The Portuguese Supreme Court Thrusday denied the petition to hand over George Wright, who broke out of prison after being convicted for the 1962 shooting of gas station attendant Walter Patterson. Wright fled a Cumberland County prison and has been on the run ever since, but settled in Portugal and raised a family without the knowledge of law enforcement or local officials of his past.

American officials can still go to that country's Constitutional Court before exhausting its appeals. However, Patterson's daughter is supplementing those efforts with a grass-roots push of her own.

"I would like people to write to their Congressmen or call them, and tell them," says Ann Patterson Malsbury. "People that I talk to are just outraged at the injustice of this, and this is across the whole country."

Patterson Malsbury believes that if enough Representatives are inundated with enough mail, they'll start to understand that it's a murder case that now has international implications.

New Jersey U.S Representative Chris Smith, who previously succeeded in bringing two minors back to the states from the Ukraine and aided efforts by David Goldman to reacquire custody of his son Sean from Brazil, has been monitoring the situation.

Patterson Malsbury says she's aware that global politics are intertwined in the case, but sees it as an opportunity.

"I understand that Portugal is a third-world country, and they want a lot of money from the United States," she says. "Maybe they should deny them the money."