Juvenile lifers: Alphonso James, Part 3 - who was Delbert Pascavis?

Pascavis

By Gretchen Schuldt

​Somebody in Delbert Pascavis' flat strangled him to death with a bedsheet and wrapped a telephone cord around his neck, waist, and right foot.

There was no sign of forced entry into the house.

Before the night of July 26, 1985, Pascavis was a church organist, a tutor, a man active in the gay community.  He was a case worker for Milwaukee County whose job included interviewing potential foster parents.

He was a member of the Bel Canto Chorus, the Felix Chorale, the Neighborhood Block Watch, and the Black and White Men Together, an organization that currently describes itself as a "gay, multiracial, multicultural organization committed to fostering supportive environments wherein racial and cultural barriers can be overcome."

He also was "quite a drinking man," his landlord told police, according to a police report.

Pascavis "was a partier and had lots of different people coming and going at all times of the day and night....," the report said.

He was popular in the neighborhood and never turned anyone away from his house, the landlady told police. If a visitor brought a friend along, Pascavis would welcome that friend as well. 

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James - Photo courtesy of Hupy and Abraham

His landlord "also stated that most of his guests were young black males in their twenties," she said.

Pascavis was with a black man the night he was killed, witnesses said. Some later identified that male as Alphonso James, but those identifications were questioned later by the Wisconsin Innocence Project.

Another witness described the Pascavis' companion that night as a black male in his late 20s or early 30s, about six feet, one inch tall and 190-200 pounds.

James was 17, five feet, nine inches tall and weighed 158 pounds.

As soon as his body was found on the morning of July 27, 1985, Pascavis became a homicide case, the property of the justice system.

Soon enough, the life of Delbert Pascavis would be overshadowed in the justice system almost completely in by the next act: the prosecution of Alphonso James.

​Next: The confession