Innocent Illinois man freed after nearly 30 years in prison for murder, rape of 15-year-old girl
Christopher Abernathy, 48, was released after DNA evidence cleared him of the 1984 murder of Kristina Hickey in Park Forest, prosecutors said. He had been serving a life sentence since 1987.
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Thursday, February 12, 2015, 8:53 AM
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He spent nearly 30 years behind bars for a crime he didn't commit, but Christopher Abernathy went home Wednesday, released after DNA evidence cleared him of the 1984 rape and murder of a 15-year-old girl.
The 48-year-old Illinois man was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in the murder of Kristina Hickey in Park Forest, a southern suburb of Chicago, prosecutors said.
"It's just scary to be out, 'cause that's all I know," he told the Chicago Tribune.
He walked out of the Stateville Correctional Center and into his 73-year-old mother's arms Wednesday after a judge threw out all charges against him, the Chicago Tribune reported. Then Abernathy got a cheeseburger — what he craved after years of prison food.
Abernathy said he is still processing his release. He was arrested after confessing to the crime at the age of 18. He was sentenced in 1987.
His mother, Ann Kolus, said she screamed when a judge cleared him Tuesday. She called her son Wednesday morning to let him know he would be freed later that day.
APChristopher Abernathy had been serving a sentence of life in prison for the 1984 murder and sexual assault of a 15-year-old girl. He was released after prosecutors obtained new DNA evidence.
"This day is more than 10,000 days overdue," Kolus said. "I always knew in my heart that Chris was innocent, and I'm so thankful that my prayers have been answered and he is finally coming home."
Cook County Conviction Integrity Unit prosecutors re-opened Abernathy's case at the request of his lawyers in May. There were "several troubling aspects of the case," prosecutors said in a statement.
Abernathy may have suffered from a "diminished mental capacity" and signed the confession after 30 hours in custody, prosecutors said. His confession, which was one of the key pieces of evidence used against him at trial, was "void" of details about the crime.
Investigators conducted "extensive" testing on all available evidence - none of which had any of Abernathy's DNA, prosecutors said. DNA testing technology was not available in the 1980s, when Abernathy was convicted.
"It is my hope that some measure of justice is being served today, but there are no doubt many extremely sad and difficult aspects to this case," Cook County State Attorney Anita Alvarez said in a statement. "I cannot and will not let a wrongful conviction stand."
LATHAN GOUMAS/APChristopher Abernathy, top, was released to the joy of his mother, Ann Kolus.
Hickey went missing while she was walking home from her Rich East High School choir concert on Oct. 3, 1984. Two days later, the high school sophomore's body was discovered behind bushes near a department store. She had been sexually assaulted and stabbed multiple times, with a deep slash to the front of her neck.
Police questioned Abernathy after the crime and released him. He was not arrested until a year later, when a friend told police Abernathy had confessed to the murder.
DNA evidence indicates another man killed Hickey, prosecutors said. They plan to open a cold case investigation to find the suspect.
"It's an unthinkable tragedy on every end," defense attorney Lauren Kaeseberg said. "Someone got away with it, and Mr. Abernathy's been sitting in this prison behind us for the last three decades having not done it."
Alvarez created the Conviction Integrity Unit in 2012. Its investigations have led to the release of 13 defendants.
Investigators around the country have led similar efforts as prosecutors are more willing to admit their mistakes, the National Registry of Exonerations found, according to Reuters. The number of people exonerated hit a record high of 125 in 2014.
