Stanley Cornet attack on Helga Luest in Florida

With over 50 episodes under my belt, you may have caught that I was born and raised in the south Florida area. I've moved out of the area a few times over the years, but I've always returned and resettled. I haven't lived outside Broward County since 1999 – the same area I called home during my childhood. Because of this, cases like Dawnia Dacosta's abduction and murder by Lucious Boyd in Church Dis-service (s13e18) or Kenneth Pierce's serial drunk driving causing Nicole Rae Walker's death in Journey to Justice (s05e17) literally hit close to home for me.

Image credit: Episode screen capture from Forensic Files

A typical south Florida resident might complain about the occasional out-of-town driver (or snow-bird) from time to time. But the truth is Floridians like tourists. Visitors to our beautiful state give back to their destination's residents with the money they spend here. Florida has no state taxes thanks to tourism. Having lived and worked in Massachusetts, I appreciate this advantage. I've also directly benefitted from the hospitality industry when I worked on the beach in the 1990s. It may be hard to believe, but I was the young, tanned gentleman who collected money from vacationers renting chairs, umbrellas, and cabanas on Fort Lauderdale beach. Those were the days.

The events of this case occurred in 1993. I would not re-relocate to the area until the fall of 1994 when the rash of tourist-targeted crimes subsided, but I certainly recall the panic. In the early 1990s, I was already driving and distinctly remember the easy identification of a rental car by its telltale "Z" as the license plate's first letter. I was unfamiliar with the "Y" prefix as indicated by the episode; perhaps this was popular in other Florida tourist destinations like Orlando. Regard the newspaper clipping shown around the 7:40 mark – it read, "Italy considers travel warning" and the article led with "ORLANDO".

The only constant is change

Miami International Airport has never been my favorite port of call when it comes to travelling. Between the swarms of people, the parking challenges, and drive itself, flying in and out of Fort Lauderdale has always been preferrable. I have little real-world experience down in that area, so I studied a Google map to try to understand where approximately Stanley Cornet's attack on Helga Luest took place. The roads and areas  were not (read: no longer) as described in the episode.

Image credit: Episode screen capture from Forensic Files

The episode describes Le Jeune Road being the only entrance/exit from Miami International Airport. Of course in the decades since, this has changed drastically. Airport access is now much easier via I-195 or the Dolphin Expressway. And the car rental depots have been relocated to a central location that no longer abuts the residential Hialeah neighborhood north of the airport. These updates have improved access and safety. Travelers around the world are thankful for the unstoppable effects of progress and modernization.

Our case's hero Helga Luest made countless flights between Florida and Germany to bring justice to Stanley Cornet. I wonder how many of these trips would be avoidable today through modern technologies. It was said her first return trip to Florida was just three weeks after she was assaulted. It seemed police had gathered a number of potential suspects' photographs for Helga to review. Today, a victim could connect with police via online meeting tools (Zoom, Teams, etc), or worst case, be emailed a collection of images to examine.

Huge advancements have occurred in the world of DNA evidence since 1993. Helga was very aware of the evidentiary value of the bite mark if its details were quickly preserved by forensic photography. We're not sure if Helga cleaned her wound before having it photographed, but today the injury could be a rich source of the culprit's DNA from his saliva. Even touch DNA on Helga or in the rental car might've been sufficient to identify and convict Stanley Cornet today. Was Helga's bite wound swabbed for DNA testing back in 1993?

Hialeah neighborhood becomes a crime scene

Image credit: Episode screen capture from Forensic Files

It was stated that many of these smash-and-grab tourist robberies in Miami took place in the semi-residential neighborhood just north of the airport. I'd hope Miami and Dade County police increased their patrols and monitoring of these areas during the height of these incidents. I also believe even a mild rearrangement of the traffic pattern in the area might've helped deter these crimes by making it harder for perpetrators to isolate their victims. Apparently, the tourist attacks took place in different jurisdictions near the airport, so a task force was formed. How many different jurisdictions intersect in the neighborhoods adjacent to the airport? Are the boundaries the of police's jurisdictions defined by the airport itself?

In Helga Luest's case, we heard that Stanley Cornet and his accomplice were able to put the car into park and disconnect the horn. "The attackers tried desperately to grab the car keys." It seems grabbing the car's keys would be a much easier task to accomplish than disabling the horn. Given tools and time, I'm still not sure I'd be able to do this. It seems Helga was driving, and that Stanley Cornet shattered her window with a kick. His accomplice seemed to assault Helga's mother though the passenger window. Helga stated that both attackers took turns beating her through her window. Did they alternate their positions outside the rental car?

Limited evidence in Helga Luest's case

Growing up in this area, it was no surprise to hear Helga had driven through a brief thunderstorm on her way to the airport. Forensically, fingerprints were obscured due to the car's wet exterior. And seemingly, the rental car's textured interior yielded no fingerprints inside either.

It wasn't an option for Helga and her mother to continue on and catch their flight. Cornet had beaten Helga badly enough to cause facial paralysis and a dislocated jaw. She not only sought treatment, but she had the bite mark forensically photographed. If Stanley Cornet and his partner had minimized the harm to their Helga, is it possible victims would have still wanted to make their flight back home? Is it possible they wouldn't have even reported the robbery attempt? Through all the violence, it didn't seem the thugs even tried to rob Helga. So what was their intention? Did they get kicks from battering helpless women?

Image credit: Episode screen capture from Forensic Files

When the mug shots were examined upon Helga's first return visit to Florida, she identified Stanley Cornet as her attacker. But avid true crime fans know that an eyewitness' identification of a suspect is often unreliable. Consider "Ann" from the episode A Bite Out of Crime (s07e06) where Chad Mancebo was convicted of a series of sexual assaults. She identified another suspect from Fresno before Chad's mug shot became available. "Ann" then fingered the Chad, but her original identification of the wrong perpetrator ultimately hindered the prosecution's case against Mancebo.

But we have to love the smug way in which retired detective Laura Lefebvre relayed the story of obtaining Stanley Cornet's dental impressions. After initially refusing to cooperate with detectives, a warrant was obtained to obtain Cornet's bite impressions by "any means necessary". A jaw jack was brought in, and I don't think Stanley needed much explaining about how the device operated. Dr. Richard Souviron described, "It'll break your jaw if you try to resist hard enough." It was at that time that "Stanley wanted to cooperate," said Detective Lefebvre with a smirk.

When undertaking this project, I remembered a few stand-out cases of Forensic Files that featured a bite mark as evidence. But there've already been more than I initially recalled. The easiest to recollect was the exoneration of Ray Krone in Once Bitten (s08e07). This memorable episode also featured Dr. Richard Souviron and his effort to sway Dr. Raymond Rawson from an unfounded conviction. Rawson sold the notion that the bite mark evidence conclusive pointed to Ray Krone's guilt. Dr. Rawson ultimately convinced not one but two juries of Krone's guilt and caused an innocent man to forfeit over ten years of his life.

Stanley Cornet and the justice system

Image credit: Episode screen capture from Forensic Files

Cornet's supervisor recalled that Stanley left on the day of Helga Luest's attack and never returned. He was fired soon after. But if this was the case on September 3, 1993, why did the photo of Cornet's timecard show a proper punchout time of 5:09pm? It was also said that Cornet was apprehended after attacking an elderly man just three days after his assault on Helga Luest. But multiple sources revealed that the episode may have misrepresented this account. It'd supposedly not been the father of the Miami policeman (who ultimately apprehended Stanley) but his mother who Cornet attempted to rob, assaulted, and bit. Hell has a special place for men who assault women.

When I consider the number of times Helga Luest flew back and forth between Germany and Florida for the trial and various hearings, it evokes strong emotions in me. Tourists were unlikely to return to the area to see their case through, so the charges against these cowards were often dropped. Stanley worked the system to make it hard on Helga and try to get her to give up. And there's no doubt in my mind that some bottom-feeder criminal defense attorney was behind this scheme. To cause the victim of the crime undue expense of both time and money is deplorable. I'm not sure how lowlifes like this sleep at night – knowing the only reason for their client's success was by further victimizing the victim.

This hits close to home for me, but with a judge. Years ago, I financially supported a partner getting her record wiped clean. She'd been a model probationer and expunging her record was justified. Instead of examining the facts in evidence, this judge invoked requirements to make the process egregiously expensive. He demanded we obtain a transcript of the orginal trial – well over 300 pages at nearly $8 apiece (this is ten times the cost in other states; a racket within the Florida justice system). The dirtbag never read a single word of the case documents, but he instead remanded the case to a colleague who immediately granted our request. As much as I support police and the justice system in general, there's often one rotten apple that seems to spoil the bunch.

Where is Stanley Cornet now in 2024?

In 1996, Stanley Cornet was convicted of attempted robbery and aggravated battery. As a repeat offender, this was his third strike, and he was sentenced to life in prison. He'd been convicted on the felonious assault on the Miami police officer's mother just days after his attack on Luest. And merely 35 days before, Cornet had just been released from jail for carrying a gun and selling cocaine.

Image credit: Episode screen capture from Forensic Files

In 2001, Cornet (no doubt with help from a defense attorney) worked a loophole in the prosecution's process to get a hearing in Miami for resentencing. Once again, Helga returned to Florida and had to face Stanley Cornet in court. She recounted the terrifying experience and its permanent physical and emotional effects. Thankfully, the court wisely resentenced Stanley to life in prison.

Since the events of this episode, Helga Luest (named Helga West in a 2007 Frederick News-Post article) has moved to Washington DC. The talented Rebecca Reisner over at Forensic Files Now conducted a Q & A with Helga Luest late in 2016. The victim-turned-advocate continues to donate her time and expertise to support programs including Trauma Informed.