3 Delaware County men convicted of 1997 murder granted new trial
CHESTER, Pa. - Three Delaware County men who were convicted in a 25-year-old murder case have been granted a new trial.
FOX 29's Chris O'Connell reports the Innocence Project and local attorneys claim new DNA evidence refutes the conviction.
Derrick Chappell, 41, Morton Johnson, 42, and Samuel Grasty, 46, were teenagers in 1997 when they were convicted of the October beating death of 70-year-old Henrietta Nickens inside her Chester apartment.
Vanessa Potkin, the Director of Special Litigation with the Innocence Project, told FOX 29 last July that "there is no question in my mind that these three men are innocent and spent decades in prison for a crime somebody else committed."
Investigators found DNA at the bloody crime scene nearly three decades ago, but none of it matched up to the three defendants. Attorney David Haase from Shook, Hardy and Bacon called the crime scene "brutal," and reiterated that none of the blood, hair, fingerprints or semen samples tied the men to the murder.
The Delaware County District Attorney's Office previously pushed back by saying that none of the evidence found at the home would likely reverse the outcome of the verdicts.
Attorneys for men convicted of 1997 murder in Chester will ask for new trial
Derrick Chappell, 41, Morton Johnson, 42, and Samuel Grasty, 46, were teenagers in 1997 when they were convicted of the October beating death of 70-year-old Henrietta Nickens inside her Chester apartment. A quarter-century later, their attorneys - with help for the past eight years from the Innocence Project - believe modern DNA testing shows their clients were not the killers.
"Just because there is an absence of DNA of a defendant at a crime scene doesn't mean they are innocent," District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer said last July. "I think people who watch too much CSI or TV don't quite understand that people can commit vile acts and not leave DNA at the scene."
The three men turned down plea deals during their trial as an unwavering commitment to their innocence. Their attorneys believe the person who killed Henrietta Nickens was never found.
"These three guys were so young when this happened," Nilam Sanjhvi from the Innocence Project told FOX 29. "They've had so many years taken from them and they physical evidence is there, and unfortunately we're still getting opposition."