Bill's investigation linked physical evidence tying
the real killer to the crime scene.
In 1999, police and prosecutors were brought to
trial for their misconduct, but were acquitted.
In 2005, the real killer, Brian Dugan was finally
charged for the murder of Jeanine Nicarico, 23 years after the crime.
On Nov. 11, 2009, the jury handed down a dearth verdict.
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Excerpt from Victim's of Justice
Metnick knew that defense lawyers by nature have
a difficult time representing innocent clients. Usually, defense
lawyers won't cast about indiscriminately for new information because
they donĂt want to turn up something damaging that can be
used against their clients. Instead, defense lawyers focus on attacking
the prosecution case.
This case, however, needed as much probing as possible, Metnick
believed. The more information he uncovered, the better for Alex.
Metnick turned to Springfield investigator Bill Clutter. . . He
took Clutter into the law firm's conference room and showed him
the case file.
"It was just unbelievably huge," Clutter recalled. "It
was bigger than anything else we had ever done. Usually, when we
get a case, it might take up an accordion file. If it is a really
big case, it might take up two accordion files. But this was banker
box after banker box."
Clutter started by combing through the files, and soon found the
report by Warren Wilkosz in which he documented having investigated
Dugan after Dugan was arrested for Melissa Ackerman's murder. Prior
to that, nobody on the defense side had realized that Wilkosz had
investigated Dugan.
Clutter met with Gary Johnson, Thomas McCulloch, Randy Garrett,
and Naperville police chief Jim Teal. He re-interviewed witnesses
and talked to prosecutors. He went to the Prairie Path and to the
church where the secretary had seen Dugan. He also found out that
plaster casts had been taken of tire tracks on the Prairie Path.
Prosecutor Robert Kilander had told Ed Cisowski there was nothing
of evidentiary value from the Prairie Path, so the State Police
had not examined the casts while they still had Brian Dugan's car.
Now, in the summer of 1989, Clutter insisted on seeing them. Then
he persuaded the State Police to examine them. A test identified
the tracks as coming from Goodyear Viva glass-belted tires, which
were the original tires on Dugan's Volare. The car itself, though,
by now had been crushed and was no longer available for comparison.
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