The woman and her Daughter were staying at the home of acquaintances while the couple was out of town. Police were initially unable to develop any suspects in the 1985 case. In 1999, the former girlfriend of the homeowners’ son changed her testimony and identified the homeowners’ son as the murderer. Based on her testimony, a jury convicted Ricky Davis of the Murder.
According to police, on the night of the slaying, the victim declined to allow her 13-year-old daughter to attend a party. The daughter then told her mother that she was spending the night with a friend. Instead, the daughter met up with three teenagers at a park.
When she returned home, the daughter, along with Davis’ girlfriend, discovered the homicide scene. The daughter told police that she had met up with a juvenile named “Michael Green” the night her mother died. A jury convicted Davis of the murder in 2005 and sentenced him to life in prison. DNA evidence collected from the victim’s clothing at the time of the murder did not match Davis.
The Innocence Project took up Davis’ case and pressed the court to reconsider his conviction. The girlfriend who had changed her testimony died in 2014. The prosecutor’s case relied on the girlfriend’s testimony. Using genealogical DNA, Innocence Project investigators were able to match the DNA from the victim’s clothing to Michael Green – the same man the daughter told police she met the night of the murder.
Last month, an El Dorado County judge declared Davis factually innocent of the crime and ordered his release. Michael Green is now in jail awaiting trial for the mother’s murder.
Los Angeles murder lawyer
In a homicide case, investigators and prosecutors are under tremendous pressure to come up with a suspect. In doing so, they sometimes cut corners and that leads to erroneous convictions. When you face charges for a homicide, your best defense includes working with a top-rated defender like Robert Helfend. Mr. Helfend has 35 years of experience in criminal defense. He takes cases in Los Angeles County and throughout Southern California.
His first priority will be to get the charges against you reduced or dropped. He will challenge all evidence against you, and raise reasonable doubt about the prosecutor’s case. In the age of DNA evidence, there is no reason to settle for inconclusive results (or worse, wrong results), when DNA can exonerate you!
Contact Robert Helfend or call toll-free at (800) 834-6434, (310) 456-3317, (818) 591-2809 or (805) 273-5611 for an immediate consultation on your Los Angeles County murder case.
Photo Credit: nosha, Flickr.com
This post first appeared on Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorney | Robert Helfend, please read the originial post: here
