BACKGROUND: From a previous post: "After lawyers with the Exoneration Project and Illinois Innocence Project unearthed dramatic new forensic evidence, a judge has ruled that McNeil - serving a 100 year sentence on murder charges in the 1998 death of 3-year-old Christina McNeil - can take the next step in his quest for a new trial, WGLT (Reporter Edith Brady-Lunny) reports..."McNeil’s petition seeking a new trial in the 1998 death of his young daughter will move forward in McLean County court, a judge has ruled, in a decision that recognizes potential new evidence that may support McNeil’s innocence. 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."
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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "McNeil did not attend the brief hearing, but his legal team of five lawyers from the Illinois Innocence Project and the Exoneration Project attended the hearing and settled on a timeline with the state that puts the next hearing on May 12. Prosecutor Mary Koll said in November that the state may be willing to move forward with a hearing on new potential evidence and bypass the routine filing of a motion to dismiss McNeil’s petition filed in February seeking a new trial. On Friday, Koll told Judge William Yoder the state would be filing the motion to dismiss."
STORY: "Prosecutors will seek to dismiss Bart McNeil's request for a new trial in 1988 murder, by Reporter Edith Brady-Lunny, published by WGLT on December 10, 2010."
PHOTO CAPTION: Bart McNeil, now 62, is serving 100 years in the 1998 suffocation death of 3-year-old Christina McNeil. His case was featured on WGLT's podcast Suspect Convictions in 2018.
GIST: "A hearing on new evidence that could clear Bart McNeil of murder was delayed on Friday by at least five months after a prosecutor said the state will first seek dismissal of McNeil’s petition for a new trial.
McNeil, now 62, is serving 100 years in the 1998 suffocation death of 3-year-old Christina McNeil.
His case was featured on WGLT's podcast Suspect Convictions in 2018.
McNeil did not attend the brief hearing, but his legal team of five lawyers from the Illinois Innocence Project and the Exoneration Project attended the hearing and settled on a timeline with the state that puts the next hearing on May 12.
Prosecutor Mary Koll said in November that the state may be willing to move forward with a hearing on new potential evidence and bypass the routine filing of a motion to dismiss McNeil’s petition filed in February seeking a new trial.
On Friday, Koll told Judge William Yoder the state would be filing the motion to dismiss.
The defense has attacked the evidence used by the state to convict McNeil in a bench trial held over several days in 1999. That evidence included claims that McNeil had sexually abused the child and discussions surrounding the time it takes a spider to weave a new web.
When McNeil summoned police back to his Bloomington apartment hours after the girl’s lifeless body was found in his bed, he directed officers to holes in a window screen.
The state challenged the defense theory that an intruder had entered the bedroom window by showing photos of undamaged spider webs on the window casing.
McNeil suggested police investigate his former girlfriend Misook Nowlin as a suspect in the child’s death. The two had ended their relationship following an argument in a local restaurant the night of Christina’s death.
McNeil told his former girlfriend he was not willing to testify on her behalf at a court hearing the following day related to a domestic dispute between the couple.
Nowlin was convicted in 2011 of suffocating her mother-in-law Linda Tyda after a family disagreement over money and questions about the fidelity of Misook’s husband.
Defense lawyers argue in the new petition that results of new forensic tests could implicate Nowlin as a suspect.
Nowlin could not be excluded from DNA collected from a bedsheet.
McNeil’s conviction was the result of a rush to judgement, the defense has argued, by police who did not thoroughly investigate the case before focusing on the father as the main suspect.
Following Friday’s hearing, one of McNeil’s longtime friends became emotional when talking to reporters about the case.
Jeff Boyer worked with McNeil and Misook at a Bloomington restaurant before Christina’s death.
“There’s a lot of us who knew Bart as a kind and loving person,” said Boyer. “There was never a moment I felt Bart was aggressive or harmful in any way."
Boyer said his impression of Nowlin differed from what he saw with McNeil.
“She was quite the opposite of his personality. She was combative and combustible,” said McNeil’s friend.
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."
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;
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;
