7: David Thorne

10/15/20 • 47 min

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In 1999, Yvonne Layne was found murdered in her Ohio home while her two children were upstairs and one hid under the dining room table potentially watching the crime. Her ex-boyfriend David was instantly a suspect as the father of one of her children, but he had a solid alibi. So the police found Joe Wilkes, a friend of David’s, and a vulnerable kid whom they threatened with the death penalty if he did not confess to a murder for hire. In 2000 with Joe’s testimony, David was sentenced to life without parole. A year later Joe recanted his testimony and since then it appears evidence was planted and it was revealed that Yvonne was possibly a sex worker and had intimate relationships with multiple members of the police department. David has been in prison for twenty years.
Learn more about David's case and how to help:
http://www.linktr.ee/freedavidthorne
For more information and a complete list of sources for this episode, visit:
https://www.unjustandunsolved.com/

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6: Charles Erickson

On Halloween night in 2001, Columbia Tribune Sports Editor Kent Heitholt was brutally murdered in the Tribune parking lot. Two years later, Charles Erickson read a memorial in the paper about Heitholt and was convinced he and classmate Ryan Ferguson committed the murder. Despite blacking out from partying that night and having no memory of the murder, besides what he called “snapshots," Charles took a plea deal to testify against Ryan. Ryan’s conviction was overturned in 2012 based on a Brady violation and recanted witness statements, including Charles's. Ryan now sits on the board of the Innocence Project. Even though his co-defendant is free, Charles has been in prison for sixteen years.
Learn more about Charles's case and how to help:
http://www.freecharleserickson.org/
For more information and a complete list of sources for this episode, visit:
https://www.unjustandunsolved.com/

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8: Darrell Ewing

On December 29, 2009 two cars pulled up to a Detroit intersection. In one was J.B. Watson, his girlfriend LaRita Thomas, and his cousin Phillip Reed. In the other, two black men. One got out and fired multiple shots at the trio, killing Watson. The shooting was claimed to be gang related and Darrell Ewing and and his co-defendant Derrico Searcy were convicted of the murder. However, Darell had a solid alibi at a family funeral and Tyree Washington came forward repeatedly to confess to the murder, including under oath. In 2017, Darrell and Derrico were ordered a new trial based on jury contamination and lack of overwhelming evidence of guilt. Again in 2019 a judge ordered a new trial, but the prosecutor Kym Worthy has fought every decision and appeal. They have been in prison for almost a decade for a crime they did not commit.
Learn more about Darrell's case and how to help:
https://actualinnocentprisoners.com/darrell-ewing
For more information and a complete list of sources for this episode, visit:
https://www.unjustandunsolved.com/