Timothy Dean’s trial attorney says an admission of false testimony by a key prosecution witness could provide grounds to challenge Dean’s conviction in the 2018 Sodus killings of Joshua Niles and Amber Washburn.
Attorney Joe Damelio told 13WHAM that he sees a possible path to seeking a new trial after Charlene Childers acknowledged lying under oath during Dean’s 2019 prosecution.
Damelio said obtaining transcripts of her recent testimony would be an important step before pursuing a motion to vacate the conviction. A retrial has not been granted.
Childers, Dean’s then-wife, testified against him under a plea agreement covering her own involvement in the killings. Her admission came during proceedings in which she is seeking a reduction of her 28-year prison sentence.
As FingerLakes1 reported after the October hearing, Childers acknowledged giving false testimony while being questioned by Wayne County District Attorney Christine Callanan.
Childers pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. She is seeking resentencing under New York’s Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act, arguing that abuse should be considered in determining her punishment.
Niles, the father of two of Childers’ children, and Washburn were shot and killed outside their Sodus home Oct. 22, 2018. Dean was convicted the following year and sentenced to life in prison.
Damelio told 13WHAM that Childers’ credibility had been a major issue during the trial. The station also reported that Callanan is examining whether Childers could face perjury charges or consequences for violating her cooperation agreement.
A challenge would require a court ruling. New York’s Criminal Procedure Law Section 440.10 allows defendants to seek to vacate convictions on specified grounds, including certain newly discovered evidence that probably would have produced a more favorable verdict.
Dean’s case has already undergone appellate review. In a June 2025 decision, the Appellate Division upheld his first-degree murder conviction while dismissing two second-degree murder counts because they were included within that charge. The court also dismissed one weapons count because of an incorrect jury instruction.
That ruling left the first-degree murder conviction intact. Damelio’s proposed challenge would ask the court to consider the significance of Childers’ subsequent testimony.
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