PUBLISHER'S NOTE: All my instincts tell me that Part McNeil -
serving a 100-year sentence on murder charges in the suffocation death of his daughter is utterly innocent, that his former girlfriend Misook Nowlin, described by McNeil's lawyers as jealous and vindictive, with a history of physically abusing adults and children is Christine's killer, and that a flawed autopsy report lies at the heart of the case. I have been following the McNeil case for years, It is indeed encouraging that he is finally gaining traction in his quest for a new trial - and, as always, will keep a close eye on developments. Stay tuned
!
Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
BACKGROUND:
Previous story: WGLT reporter Edith Brady-Lunny; February 23, 2021: "New evidence in the 1998 death of 3-year-old Christina McNeil exonerates her father of murder charges, according to a petition filed on Tuesday by lawyers for Bart McNeil. McNeil is . In the 65-page petition and four volumes of exhibits, lawyers with The Exoneration Project and the Illinois Innocence Project challenge key evidence used by the state to convict McNeil during a four-day bench trial before now-retired judge Michael Prall. A pathology report by Dr. Violette Hnilica claiming Christina was sexually molested before she was smothered will be challenged with new scientific evidence, according to defense lawyers. “Applying modern scientific principles, a renowned forensic pathologist has now concluded that noting about the autopsy findings in Christina McNeil’s case supports an objective, independent diagnosis that she was smothered or that the manner of death was a homicide,” said the petition. Lawyers argue a child abuse expert will testify the state’s accusation of molestation was equally faulty. “The bottom line is that modern science completely repudiates Hnilica’s testimony regarding any alleged motive,” states the defense motion. Much of the court filing focuses on the defense theory that a second, more likely suspect who was later convicted of another murder, avoided serious consideration as a suspect by authorities. McNeil’s former girlfriend, Misook Nowlin, was jealous, vindictive and had a history of physically abusing adults and children, according to McNeil’s counsel. The night before Christina’s body was found in her bed at her father’s Bloomington apartment, McNeil and Nowlin had a bitter disagreement at a restaurant that ended their relationship. Evidence that someone may have entered the child’s room through a window and knocked over a fan was dismissed by Bloomington police detectives. Lawyers point out it was McNeil who summoned police to his home to investigate what he thought was the murder of his daughter. During his trial, McNeil’s lawyer, Tracy Smith, was barred from introducing evidence of an alternative suspect. The results of DNA tests performed during McNeil’s post-conviction proceedings show Nowlin, Christina and McNeil could not be excluded from DNA profiles collected from a bedsheet. Hair collected from inside a pillowcase was not Christina’s, but consistent with Nowlin’s DNA, said the petition. Nowlin’s actions in the 2011 strangulation death of her mother-in-law Linda Tydashowed her “idiosyncratic and patterned history of homicide,” according to a chart included with the filing of 11 similarities between the two deaths. The defense also asks the court to consider new allegations about Nowlin’s suspicious conduct the night of the child’s death and her presence at the apartment the next morning when police arrived. Information that Nowlin told her former husband Don Wang that she killed Christina also should be heard, said the petition. In a recent phone call with WGLT from the Pinckneyville Correctional Center, McNeil said he was anxiously waiting for the new petition and a court date. “I’ve already been locked up for 20 years. If justice is going to be done, let’s not draw this out any longer. I hope justice is served for my daughter, whose killer or killers have paid no penalty for her death,” said McNeil. A court date has not been set on the petition for a new trial. McNeil's conviction was the subject of the WGLT podcast Suspect Convictions in 2018."
-------------------------------------------------------------------
CURRENT STORY: "Judge Allows Bart McNeil To Take Next Step In Quest For New Murder Trial," by Reporter Edith Brady-Lunny, published by WGLT (NPR Illinois State University. Edith Brady-Lunny began her career as a reporter with The DeWitt County Observer, a weekly newspaper in Clinton. From 2007 to June 2019, Edith covered crime and legal issues for The Pantagraph, a daily newspaper in Bloomington, Illinois. She previously worked as a correspondent for The Pantagraph covering courts and local government issues in central Illinois.
PHOTO CAPTION: "Bart McNeil is serving 100 years on murder charges in the suffocation death of 3-year old Christina McNeil."
PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "In his brief notation allowing the petition to be filed, Judge William Yoder said, “because at least one of the grounds for relief allege exculpatory evidence outside the record and is not directly refuted by the record, the entire petition shall be docketed for 2nd stage review.” Yoder did not specify which potential new evidence he considered strong enough to justify additional proceedings in the case. Most post-conviction petitions do not clear the hurdles for a second-stage review."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
McNeil is serving 100 years on murder charges in the suffocation death of 3-year-old Christina McNeil. McNeil claimed he found the child’s lifeless body in her bed at his Bloomington apartment, maintaining his innocence while encouraging police to investigate his former girlfriend, Misook Nowlin, as a suspect. Nowlin was later convicted in the 2011 strangulation of her mother-in-law, Linda Tyda.
In February, lawyers with the Illinois Innocence Project and The Exoneration Project filed a 65-page petition asserting McNeil’s innocence of the murder.
Newly developed scientific evidence challenges claims by former pathologist Dr. Violette Hnilica that the child was molested before she was smothered. Authorities relied upon an accusation that McNeil molested his daughter to support their theory of a motive for her death.
“The bottom line is that modern science completely repudiates Hnilica’s testimony regarding any alleged motive,” said the defense motion.
Forensic tests performed after McNeil’s conviction on hair collected from inside the child’s pillowcase showed the hair was consistent with Nowlin’s DNA, the defense argues. Nowlin also could not be excluded from DNA collected from a bedsheet.
In his brief notation allowing the petition to be filed, Judge William Yoder said, “because at least one of the grounds for relief allege exculpatory evidence outside the record and is not directly refuted by the record, the entire petition shall be docketed for 2nd stage review.”
Yoder did not specify which potential new evidence he considered strong enough to justify additional proceedings in the case. Most post-conviction petitions do not clear the hurdles for a second-stage review.
Yoder set a Nov. 12 hearing to review the status of McNeil’s petition.
McNeil's conviction was the subject of the WGLT podcast Suspect Convictions in 2018.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The entire story can be read at:
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog; -----------------------------------------------------------------
FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
—————————————————————————————————
FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they’ve exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!
Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;
