The Central Park Five: Korey Wise buys $925,000 penthouse in New York overlooking iconic landmark
Reports have emerged that the Central Park Five's Korey Wise has purchased a one-bedroom penthouse apartment in New York with a view of the park. Wise spent 14 years in prison after being wrongly convicted at the age of 16 on the charge of raping a jogger in 1989. The particulars of the case have most recently been documented in the Netflix series ‘When They See Us’.
Wise spent roughly twice as much time in prison compared to the rest of the Five after he offered to accompany his friend to the police station because he believed his mother would've wanted him to look out for him.
In 2002, the conviction was overturned after Matias Reyes confessed to the rape after meeting Wise while in prison. By then, four of the accused had already served their time – the lowest of which was six years. Their innocence was confirmed by DNA evidence.
Now at the age of 46, Wise has bought an 803-square-foot apartment in a luxury building that offers views of the beautiful New York skyline as well as the sprawling park where the lives of the Five were changed forever. Except for Wise, all of the Five have already left New York to restart their lives in other states.
Wise’s new home was originally listed for $960,000 but he purchased it for $925,000. The Daily Mail reports that the penthouse apartment boasts a “living/dining room with oversized windows for unobstructed north-facing views”. An open Chef's Kitchen with Caesarstone quartz countertops, porcelain tiles and custom white lacquer cabinets is also featured on the listing.
The building provides plenty of privacy, with a covered parking area and a doorman.
As the case began to draw national attention, Donald Trump had put out a newspaper advertisement calling for the return of the death penalty.
Wise, along with Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Raymond Santana and Yusef Salaam received $41 million in 2014 after filing a lawsuit against the state and in 2016, they received an additional $3.9 million for economic and emotional damages. The other four received between $500,000 and $650,000 while Wise received $1.5 million.
Now dubbed the Exonerated Five by the public, the men have maintained that despite relocating and being able to send their children to better schools, the money has not been enough to make up for the trauma they faced behind bars.
Their attorney Jonathan Moore reportedly said, “Every day Antron McCray wakes up in fear someone is going to come take away. Every day Kevin Richardson feels that pain of being in prison. Every day. The same is true of all those men. Is it too much? I don't think so.”
The recent Netflix series directed by Ava Duvernay features two out of four episodes focusing on Wise's experience, which included transfers that made it more difficult to have visitors and time in solitary confinement.
Unlike the rest of the Five, Wise remains single and does not have any children.