SEATTLE, Wash. -- Life behind bars is the prison sentence that devastated Sue McCullough.
“I knew he didn't do it. I have been married to him for 23 years. He would never do such a thing,” said McCullough.
Her husband was found guilty of murder in 2012.
“They figured he would just die in prison and nobody would ever be the wiser, until this new state's attorney came,” she said.
Janey O'Connor says the case built around her stepfather was a bogus one.
It dates back to the 1957 abduction of Maria Ridulph from the small town of Sycamore, Illinois. Jack McCullough, Maria’s neighbor, was initially questioned and cleared. He went on to serve in the military. He moved to Washington, and for a while was a police officer. But in 2011, Detectives set their sights on him, saying he was responsible for the 1957 abduction and slaying. It led to a guilty verdict.
“This case wasn't about justice for the family or closure,” said O’Connor. “This case was about, ‘Let’s make a name for ourselves, another notch on our belt. We solved the oldest cold case in history.’ And everybody jumped on that bandwagon.”
Now a court-ordered six month review reveals new phone records that back up McCullough's original alibi, that he was in a city 35 miles away when the abduction happened.
“You want to dance and you want to cry because you are so happy, but at the same time my kids lost 5 years with their grandfather,” said O’Connor.
The results of the cold case review are expected to be discussed during a court hearing Tuesday. His wife hopes that he will be set free soon.
