WEBSTER, N.Y.–Richard Leon Wilbern who has been charged with the 2003 robbery and murder inside a branch of the then Xerox FCU, has entered a plea of not guilty and is challenging the validity of the evidence against him.
Wilbern was arrested in 2016 in a cold case many had thought would never be solved. He has been charged with a robbery at the credit union during which he allegedly shot two members inside the branch, one of whom, Raymond Batzel, was struck in the head and later pronounced dead.
Following up on a tip Wilbern was arrested in September of 2016 after a former Xerox employee told police he recognized him from enhanced photos and videos from the credit union. Authorities have also said that Wilbern's DNA largely matches that found on the umbrella left behind by the killer-robber.
But Wilbern’s defense attorney, Assistant Federal Public Defender Anne Burger, is challenging the validity of that DNA evidence, saying the "Low Copy Number" DNA testing, or LCN, "is unreliable.” Burger said Wilbern will seek to have the evidence excluded at his trial.
A bail hearing for Wilbern is scheduled for Feb. 15.