12x19 - All Butt Certain

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Narrator: a child witnesses a

Brutal m*rder.

I had to point out my uncle.

They had a little -year-old

Girl who was saying it was her

Uncle clarence.

Case closed.

Narrator: years later, the

Girl recanted, but the courts

Wouldn't let him go.

Even dna wasn't enough.

Do they want me to hand them

The k*ller on a silver platter?

The k*ller on a silver platter? Okay, that's what we'll do.

Okay, that's what we'll do.

Narrator: june , , was a

Very hot night in

Barberton, ohio.

Hoping for a breeze, -year-old

Judy johnson left her front door

Ajar.

Sometime after midnight, her

Granddaughter brooke heard a

Commotion coming from the

Kitchen.

When she went to look, she saw a

Man b*ating her grandmother.

I was scared, so I ran back

To my grandma's room and covered

Up my head with a blanket.

Narrator: but the intruder

Followed her into the bedroom,

Knocked her unconscious,

Sexually assaulted her, and left

Her for dead.

Miraculously, brooke regained

Consciousness several hours

Later but found her grandmother

Later but found her grandmother dead.

Dead.

Brooke then ran to a neighbor's

House for help.

Incredibly, the neighbor made

Her wait outside.

Part of my left ear was

Missing, and my whole left check

Was swollen.

But she told me that her kids

Had to finish eating and she

Needed to get them dressed and

Everything, so she left me

Sitting out on her porch for

Like minutes.

Narrator: eventually, the

Neighbor drove brooke home.

Later that day, at the hospital,

Brooke gave police a description

Of her attacker.

He looked like my uncle.

He had dark hair.

He was about the same height.

And...i just --

That's the only person that I

Could think that he looked like.

Narrator: her uncle,

Clarence elkins, was the

Victim's son-in-law.

He lived about an hour's drive

Away and had no criminal record

And no history of v*olence.

His wife, melinda, couldn't

Believe that clarence would k*ll

Her mother.

I remember my reaction,

Distinctly, when he told me that

My mom had been m*rder*d.

I mean, I actually doubled over

In pain, you know, like, in a

Fetal position almost.

Narrator: clarence denied any

Involvement but was quickly

Taken into custody.

And I said to them, "yes, I

Am his wife, and, yes, I know

That some women do stand up for

Their man and lie for them, but

You're missing the biggest point

Here.

That was my mother, and I want

The person who did this to pay.

And I'm telling you right now it

Was not clarence."

Narrator: but police

Discovered that clarence might

Have had a motive to hurt

Judy johnson.

Their theory is that clarence

Has developed a hatred for his

Mother-in-law because the

Mother-in-law was allegedly

Interfering in his marriage with

Melinda.

There was a woman who said

She was judy's best friend,

Saying she was present when

Clarence elkins called judy

About a week before the m*rder

And threatened to k*ll her.

That's pretty damning stuff.

Narrator: police found no

Physical evidence linking

Clarence elkins to the m*rder,

But the eyewitness testimony

Placed him at the scene.

They asked me if I would

Point who hurt me and my grandma

Out, and...

I remember I had to spin around

In this little spinny seat, and

I had to point out my uncle.

For her to point at clarence

And say, "that's who did this to

Me," that was it.

That's all they needed.

Narrator: on june , ,

Clarence elkins was convicted of

First-degree m*rder and sexual

as*ault.

He was sentenced to years in

Prison.

I broke down. I collapsed.

I screamed.

I turned around to my sister,

And I said, "you know he didn't

Do this," and I collapsed.

And it was just so chaotic.

They had a little -year-old

Girl who was saying it was her

Uncle clarence.

Case closed.

Narrator: but brooke later

Said she wasn't sure what or who

She saw.

Narrator: based on the

Eyewitness testimony of a

-Year-old girl, clarence elkins

Was convicted of k*lling his

Mother-in-law and for the sexual

as*ault and attempted m*rder of

His niece.

The police, that very

Morning, searched clarence's car

For blood, for hair fibers, for

Different things.

Not a trace. The car was fine.

They searched his house, even to

The point of searching the

Drains of his shower for blood

And particles and things of that

Nature.

It came up completely clean.

Narrator: clarence's wife,

Melinda, was sure that her

Niece brooke was mistaken when

She identified clarence as the

Man who att*cked her.

After all, she was only a child

At the time and the house was

Dark.

Shocked.

I mean, to think that you can

Convict someone on i.d.

Testimony, let alone a

-Year-old child, with no

Physical evidence to back it

Up...

How can this happen?

Narrator: sure enough, four

Years after the m*rder,

Brooke sutton, now years old,

Recanted her testimony.

Do you think today that

Uncle clarence was the same man

You saw in the kitchen that

Night with your grandma?

No.

I just had always had doubts.

I knew I was wrong, because I

Put him in there and I wasn't

Positively sure.

Narrator: melinda petitioned

The court for a new trial and

Was denied.

So, melinda took matters into

Her own hands and decided to

Conduct her own investigation,

Creating a list of all known

Criminal offenders living near

Her mother's home.

I had started a suspect list

Shortly after my mom's m*rder.

I mean, I was trying to

Comprehend, who would do this to

My mom?

Who had access to her?

Who did she know?

Narrator: and she also sought

Help from an expert on wrongful

Convictions, martin yant.

Together, they pored over the

Case file and discovered some

Important pieces of information.

First, the witness who testified

Clarence elkins threatened

Judy johnson's life during a

Telephone call also claimed judy

Called to report the thr*at

To police.

But there was no evidence

Judy johnson ever called .

The call should have been

Logged.

It was obvious no such phone

Call had been made.

Narrator: and they also

Discovered that the coroner took

Vaginal swabs from judy johnson

During the autopsy.

On those swabs, lab tests found

A substance called

Acid phosphatase, an enzyme

Found in the male prostate

Gland.

But those swabs were never

Tested for dna.

To be fair, technology in

Forensic science is constantly

Improving.

Narrator: six years after the

m*rder, melinda elkins received

Permission from the court to

Test the swab taken from her

Mother's autopsy.

The forensic lab was able to

Identify a dna profile from that

Swab.

As melinda always claimed, the

Dna did not belong to

Clarence elkins.

We knew, at that point, that

Clarence elkins was innocent.

We didn't know the name of the

True perpetrator, but we knew

His dna profile.

Narrator: so, for the second

Time, melinda elkins petitioned

The court for a new trial.

Prosecutors argued that the dna

Results were unreliable since

The swab might have been

Contaminated.

And the judge agreed, refusing

To grant clarence a new trial.

And I was livid.

How dare they?

And do they want me to hand them

The k*ller on a silver platter?

Okay, that's what we'll do.

Narrator: so, now, melinda

Decided to take the next step.

She would conduct her own

Forensic investigation.

To learn how to go about it, she

Discovered the world of forensic

Television.

I think, initially, what

Attracted me to "forensic files"

Was when I first turned it on,

There was this big, loud voice

Of, you know, "m*rder in

Blah-blah town and

'Forensic files' investigates."

And I thought, "well, you know,

I'm gonna watch this."

I was learning how to gather

Dna, how to preserve it.

You know, there was a lot of

Different episodes that I

Watched that kind of put

Everything together.

Narrator: melinda decided to

Take her list of the convicted

Criminals living in her mother's

Neighborhood and surreptitiously

Collect their dna samples for

Testing.

She begins teaching herself

How to do investigations.

She watches shows like

"Forensic files," takes notes,

And starts putting that into

Practice, in terms of

Investigating suspects,

Collecting dna, all of the

Things that a private

Investigator would do.

Narrator: melinda followed

These men to local bars and

Restaurants to collect their

Dna from anything they might

Have left behind.

I would have to flirt with

These people.

I would get either a cigarette

Butt, or I've gotten their beer

Bottle.

I've gotten their drinking

Glass.

Narrator: using her own

Money and contributions

Solicited from her website,

Freeclarence.com, melinda hired

A private lab to test these

Items for dna.

Unfortunately, none of the

Samples match the dna found on

Her mother.

In the meantime, clarence elkins

Languished in jail.

She knew in her heart that

Her husband did not commit this

Crime.

And she was absolutely committed

To getting justice, not just for

Clarence, but for her mother.

Narrator: for years,

Clarence elkins sat in prison

For a crime he claimed he didn't

Do while his wife, melinda,

Worked continuously to free him.

So, she endured tremendous

Skepticism and insults along the

Way.

People feel that melinda was

Somehow some big publicity hog.

The prosecutors wanted to

Portray me as just as some dumb

Old hick from the country who

Is, you know, trying to get this

Publicity and have my name out

There and my face shown on tv as

Being my minutes of fame.

Narrator: then, one day,

Melinda picked up the morning

Newspaper and read an article

About earl mann, who had been

Convicted for sexually

Assaulting his three daughters.

I first wanted to look at

Earl mann's picture.

I went online under the

Ohio offender search, and I

Pulled up his picture.

And it was uncanny how clarence

And him looked so similar.

Narrator: but that wasn't

All.

Now melinda understood why her

Niece brooke sutton was forced

To sit outside the neighbor's

House for nearly an hour after

The att*ck --

Because the home belonged to

Earl mann and his common-law

Wife.

It was like a light bulb that

Went off in my head, and I'm

Thinking, "wow, is this too

Unreal or not?"

What would be a normal person's

Reaction to a child showing up

At your door saying your

Grandmother's been k*lled and

You're bloody and a mess?

What would your reaction be?

It wasn't what herreaction was,

Definitely.

We ended up getting the rap

Sheet of earl mann.

It was just pages and pages

Long.

And most of the things started

Off with the word "aggravated"

Beforehand, you know, a lot of

v*olence-type offenses.

Narrator: melinda now had a

Pretty good idea who committed

This crime, but she needed to

Find some way to prove it.

Using tricks she learned from

"Forensic files"...

Melinda first tried to get his

Saliva.

I started writing earl mann

Some letters.

I gave him a brief description

Of what I looked like, which is

Totally different than what I

Really look like and just that I

Was kind of a lonely person and

I was searching the web for pen

Pals.

But, you know, it was kind of

Sickening to me.

And what her objective there

Was, to see if she could get

Saliva on the envelope flap if

He were to write back to her.

What an amazing effort to try to

Get someone's dna.

I wanted him to feel like,

"Wow, I could really get some

Money off of this chick," you

Know?

And I never received a letter.

Narrator: then melinda

Discovered that mann was not

Only in the same prison as her

Husband, clarence, but their

Cells were fairly close.

Come to find out that

Earl mann is actually in the

Same pod as clarence, as the

Same housing pod, which probably

Consisted of to people.

Narrator: so, melinda decided

To involve clarence in the

Investigation, using another

Technique she learned from

Television --

How to collect someone's dna

Sample without them knowing.

They were getting discarded

Trash, discarded cigarette

Butts, paper cups out of the

Trash after they had been thrown

Away.

So, I knew at that point that it

No longer belongs to you if you

Discard it.

Narrator: melinda told

Clarence to follow earl mann

With a clean tissue and baggy on

Hand at all times.

I really didn't tell clarence

A lot about the dna extractions

That I was getting.

But a cigarette butt would have

Been sufficient if he smoked,

And he certainly did smoke.

Narrator: clarence did as

Instructed.

And one day, he watched as

Earl mann left a cigarette butt

In a clean ash tray.

He picked it up with the

Tissue, put it in the baggy,

Sealed it, and then put it in

His bible to flatten it and to

Conceal it until he could get it

Out of the prison, which I have

Never heard -- anybody ever

Getting dna from inside the

Prison and sending it out to

Have it tested -- never heard of

That.

Narrator: melinda sent mann's

Cigarette butt for forensic

Testing at her own expense.

And just as she expected,

Earl mann's dna matched the

Bodily fluid on the swab from

Her mother's autopsy.

Oh, my god, my hands went up

In the air, and I'm like...

[ Exhales deeply ]

And then the very next instant,

It was, "oh, my god.

That is the person who m*rder*d

My mom.

I now know for sure"...

Which was difficult.

Narrator: but amazingly, the

Court denied her motion for a

New trial yet again, so to free

Her husband, melinda had to do

One last thing.

Narrator: after six long

Years of trying to prove

Clarence elkins' innocence, his

Wife, melinda, and her

Representatives decided to

Bypass the local judicial

Process and go to the top, the

Attorney general for the state

Of ohio.

A prosecutor has a first

Obligation to do justice.

And the more I looked at this

Case, the more I felt that there

Had been an injustice.

Narrator: attorney general

Petro knew that the state had

Ways to either prove or disprove

This notion that earl mann's dna

Was somehow falsified.

And he didn't hesitate to use

It.

We had earl mann's dna in our

Database because we take dna

From every convicted felon, and

So we had his dna.

We did confirm that it did match

Directly with the dna taken from

The crime scene.

Narrator: in december of

, More than six years after

He was wrongfully convicted,

Clarence elkins was a free man.

It's just a time of joy and

Happy tears.

Narrator: sadly, even though

Melinda was responsible for

Clarence's freedom, their

Marriage did not survive the

Ordeal.

They divorced shortly after he

Was released.

I wish him the best, and I

Think us not being together is

His chance for a new life.

And, um...

It's just simply part of the

Devastated state that has

Been put on us.

That was our marriage.

It's gone to no fault but...

To the state, I blame.

He never blamed me.

Clarence never blamed me.

And I really would have blamed

Myself if I were him 'cause I'd

Be angry if someone put me in

Prison for something that I

Didn't do.

Narrator: prosecutors believe

Earl mann's target the night of

The m*rder was brooke sutton.

But her grandmother woke up,

Fought to protect her, and paid

With her life.

Brooke saw a man briefly before

Running away.

He then assaulted her and left

Her for dead.

The next morning, when brooke

Regained consciousness, she ran

To a neighbor's house for help.

Ironically, she ended up on the

Doorstep of the man who tried to

k*ll her just a few hours

Earlier.

The dna evidence against

Earl mann is overwhelming.

It's compelling.

It's, um...

It's as absolute as you can

Possibly get in a criminal case,

As far as I've ever seen.

Narrator : in august of ,

Earl mann plaid guilty to the

The r*pe and m*rder

Of judy johnson

And will spend an additional

Years in prison.

Narrator: melinda now spends

Her time working for the

Ohio innocence project, still

Fighting for people who have

Been wrongfully convicted.

We survived this, and now my

Sons are attending police

Academy because they want to

Make a difference in the world.

They want this to never happen

To someone again.

Had melinda not had the faith

And the drive to see this

Through, to create the stir, to

Create the momentum,

Clarence elkins would still be

In prison.

And I think that with the

Show and "forensic files" and

All the experts that you have

That come on the show and give

Details of how this works...

Is another phenomenal thing that

People need to pay attention to

Because this could happen to

Anybody.

Without melinda's efforts,

Let's face it --

Clarence elkins would still be