|
January 6, 2009
Posted: 01:58 PM ET
NEW YORK–Dr. Richard Sharpe, 54, known to In Session viewers as the “cross-dressing dermatologist,” was found hanged in his cell in a Massachusetts State Prison last night. Sharpe’s cellmate found him at 7:26 p.m.; Sharpe was pronounced dead at Norwood Hospital at 8:11 pm. 
Richard Sharpe  In November 2001, Sharpe was convicted of the shotgun murder of his estranged wife, Karen Sharpe, in July 2000. He was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole and was serving his time in the Massachusetts Correctional Institute at Norfolk, a medium security prison south of Boston. I observed Sharpe in the courtroom during his two-week murder trial, a high-profile case in the Boston area. He would flip his long hair as he tossed his head, grimace often and, for most of his testimony, address the jurors with his eyes closed. Jurors heard that Sharpe and his wife, high school sweethearts who married in 1973, were in a contested custody and divorce battle after more than 25 years of marriage. Karen Sharpe alleged that her husband psychologically and physically abused her. She and their daughter would complain that Sharpe, prone to dressing in women’s clothes, would steal their underwear to wear himself. Karen Sharpe kept photos of her husband in dresses and fishnet stockings to use in her fight for custody of their children. Dr. Sharpe had a successful dermatology practice in Gloucester, MA. At one time, he taught dermatology at Harvard Medical School. Despite his professional success, Sharpe had an alcohol and prescription drug problem and asserted an insanity defense at trial. Jurors rejected the defense and convicted him of first-degree murder Massachusetts prison spokeswoman Diane Wiffin says the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office has been notified and that his death is under investigation. –Beth Karas, In Session correspondent Filed under: Beth Karas • Case Updates |
 
About this blog
 Contributors
      Categories
 |
|
CNN Comment Policy: CNN encourages you to add a comment to this discussion. You may not post any unlawful, threatening, defamatory, obscene, pornographic or other material that would violate the law. All comments should be relevant to the topic and remain respectful of other authors and commenters. You are solely responsible for your own comments, the consequences of posting those comments, and the consequences of any reliance by you on the comments of others. By submitting your comment, you hereby give CNN the right, but not the obligation, to post, air, edit, exhibit, telecast, cablecast, webcast, re-use, publish, reproduce, use, license, print, distribute or otherwise use your comment(s) and accompanying personal identifying and other information you provide via all forms of media now known or hereafter devised, worldwide, in perpetuity. CNN Privacy Statement.
|
|
Add a comment
