Wisconsin: Two brothers spend 25 years in prison for woman’s murder: How DNA test revealed their innocence | Sanda Lison

David Bintzfrom 69 years old and his brother Robert Bintz68, originally from Green bay, Wisconsinwere acquitted after spending nearly 25 years in prison for murder from Sandra Lison in 1987. New technology genetic genealogy It was key to identifying the real culprit and freeing the brothers from unjust sentences.

Lison’s murder happened on August 4, 1987, when he disappeared from his job at a bar good times in Green Bay. Later his remains were found in Machickanee Forest in the county Ocontoabout 48 kilometers away. As he states Green Bay Press-Gazettean autopsy revealed that the woman had been strangled and there was evidence that she had been sexually assaulted prior to the murder.

Police interviewed the Bintz brothers because they were at the bar the night of the crime. Fox 11 News reported that David had a fight with Lison over the account. However, there was no physical evidence linking them to the crime.

The case went cold until a classmate informed authorities in 1998 that David had confessed in his dreams that he had killed the young woman. WFRV. Despite a lack of physical evidence, both were sentenced to life in prison in 2000 for allegedly robbing and murdering the victim.

The luck of the brothers changed in 2018 with an interest in Great North Innocence Project of Minnesota in case. The project’s legal director found no evidence linking the Bintzes to the murder, Jim Mayerresorted to Investigative Genetic Genealogy Center (IGC)an organization specializing in DNA testing.

In 2023, scientists created a genetic profile DNA found at the scene of the crime and uploaded to consumer databases such as GEDmatch.

He IGC identified genetic matches that pointed to three brothers from Green bayto be one of them William Hendricksa convicted rapist who died in 2000, according to Fox 11.

In April, DNA from Hendricks’ exhumed remains was compared and it was found to be nearly impossible for the DNA to belong to anyone else, according to reports.

Finally, on Friday, September 27, the judge agreed to release the brothers. “Today, Sandra Lison will find peace because the real killer is now known,” the judge said. Donald Zuid Mulderaccording to NBC 26. “Therefore, it is my duty to follow the law and sign the decision that overturns the convictions of both defendants and releases them,” he added.

“We tried to do the tests because there was all the physical evidence, none of which linked the brothers to the crime,” he said. James Mayerthe lawyer managing the case.

Under Wisconsin law, those who are wrongfully convicted receive compensation of $5,000 per year in prison, up to a maximum of $25,000. This means that each brother will be awarded the maximum amount for wrongful conviction.