{"id":2891,"date":"2022-04-14T01:13:01","date_gmt":"2022-04-14T07:13:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/freebart.org\/?p=2891"},"modified":"2023-01-21T22:43:15","modified_gmt":"2023-01-22T05:43:15","slug":"2022-april-1-news-article-the-pantagraph-prosecutors-agree-to-hearings-on-bloomington-mans-innocence-claim-in-1998-murder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/freebart.org\/?p=2891","title":{"rendered":"2022 April 1 News Article \u2013 The Pantagraph &#8211; Prosecutors agree to hearings on Bloomington man&#8217;s innocence claim in 1998 murder"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/freebart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/image-5.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"316\" height=\"83\" src=\"https:\/\/freebart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/image-5.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2892\" srcset=\"https:\/\/freebart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/image-5.png 316w, https:\/\/freebart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/image-5-300x79.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 316px) 100vw, 316px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Kade Heather<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>April 1, 2022<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/pantagraph.com\/news\/local\/crime-and-courts\/prosecutors-agree-to-hearings-on-bloomington-mans-innocence-claim-in-1998-murder\/article_945f2ef9-af2a-5983-88b5-51cfabb1802e.html\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/pantagraph.com\/news\/local\/crime-and-courts\/prosecutors-agree-to-hearings-on-bloomington-mans-innocence-claim-in-1998-murder\/article_945f2ef9-af2a-5983-88b5-51cfabb1802e.html\" target=\"_blank\">Click HERE<\/a><\/strong> to view the article on The Pantagraph.  The article can be played when on their website.  Also the 41-page Petition is available for download on their website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">BLOOMINGTON \u2014&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/pantagraph.com\/news\/local\/crime-and-courts\/watch-now-state-moves-to-dismiss-mcneil-s-petition-for-relief\/article_5e849e49-5ee6-5e7f-8019-42e4acfc9d6b.html\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Prosecutors on Friday<\/strong><\/a>&nbsp;conceded that a hearing is &#8220;legally required&#8221; on two aspects of a&nbsp;Bloomington man\u2019s petition for post-conviction relief from his 1999 murder conviction in his daughter\u2019s death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Barton M. McNeil, 62, is serving a 100-year prison sentence on murder charges in the June 15, 1998, suffocation death of 3-year-old Christina McNeil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">McNeil has long argued his innocence and accused his ex-girlfriend, Misook Nowlin, from whom he separated earlier that night, of causing his daughter\u2019s death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/freebart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/image-6.png\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"809\" height=\"522\" src=\"https:\/\/freebart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/image-6.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2893\" srcset=\"https:\/\/freebart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/image-6.png 809w, https:\/\/freebart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/image-6-300x194.png 300w, https:\/\/freebart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/image-6-768x496.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 809px) 100vw, 809px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Barton McNeil, shown at the&nbsp;Menard Correctional Center in 2017, will be featured in The Oxygen Network\u2019s <em>\u201cSnapped: Behind Bars.\u201d&nbsp;                                                          <\/em>DAVID PROEBER, PANTAGRAPH FILE PHOTO<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nowlin, 56,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/pantagraph.com\/news\/local\/crime-and-courts\/bloomington-woman-convicted-in-11-murder-continues-pursuit-of-new-trial\/article_b753ea36-f4f3-5f06-8625-5120eaa534ec.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>is serving a 55-year prison sentence on murder charges<\/strong><\/a>&nbsp;in the 2011 strangulation death of her 70-year-old mother-in-law, Linda Tyda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">McNeil\u2019s lawyers, from the Exoneration Project and the Illinois Innocence Project,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/pantagraph.com\/news\/local\/crime-and-courts\/watch-now-bloomington-dad-serving-100-years-in-death-of-daughter-seeks-new-trial\/article_851a4019-41c7-5d67-b7e8-dae0edb81d84.html\"><strong>filed a petition for post-conviction relief in February 2021<\/strong><\/a>. They suggested that new evidence would have led to his acquittal if it had been available at McNeil&#8217;s trial.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/pantagraph.com\/news\/local\/crime-and-courts\/watch-now-state-moves-to-dismiss-mcneil-s-petition-for-relief\/article_5e849e49-5ee6-5e7f-8019-42e4acfc9d6b.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>motion filed Friday<\/strong><\/a>&nbsp;by the McLean County State\u2019s Attorney\u2019s Office argues the bulk of McNeil&#8217;s arguments should be dismissed. But it conceded that hearings should be held on two affidavits backing McNeil\u2019s argument that Nowlin confessed to the murder to her then-husband, Don Wang.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nowlin\u2019s daughter and her ex-husband\u2019s wife submitted the affidavits in 2013.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/freebart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/image-7.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"975\" height=\"554\" src=\"https:\/\/freebart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/image-7.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2894\" srcset=\"https:\/\/freebart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/image-7.png 975w, https:\/\/freebart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/image-7-300x170.png 300w, https:\/\/freebart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/image-7-768x436.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 975px) 100vw, 975px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">USE THE URL HYERLINK AT THE TOP OF THE ARTICLE REFERENCED PREVIOUSLY IN ORDER TO PLAY THIS VIDEO TAKEN DURING A PREVIOUS HEARING HELD IN 2021 ***<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Assistant State\u2019s Attorney Mary Koll wrote that the state\u2019s concession to McNeil\u2019s two affidavitsrequires evidentiary hearings, which would entail a trial-like setting to include testimony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a phone interview Friday with The Pantagraph, McNeil said he is intrigued by the state allowing hearings on the affidavits to move forward in court. But he also said he is &#8220;not really surprised&#8221; that prosecutors want to dismiss the rest of his petition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;I&#8217;m disappointed, as I always am, that this is just extending the injustice suffered by both me and Christina, who for almost a quarter-century now has suffered the indignity of those behind her killing getting clean away and paying no penalties,&#8221; McNeil said from the Pinckneyville Correctional Center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;That&#8217;s where I&#8217;m at and that&#8217;s where I&#8217;ve always been,&#8221; McNeil said. &#8220;From the minute I dialed 911 back in 1998, this is what I was dialing 911 for, is to get a response by the police so that they would then go and arrest who then was transparently obviously responsible for this murder.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nowlin\u2019s hair and touch DNA had been discovered at the scene of Christina\u2019s death \u2014 McNeil\u2019s bed, where Christina would sleep when she visited him. McNeil and Christina\u2019s mother were separated at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Prosecutors minimized Nowlin\u2019s DNA found in the bedsheets, pointing out her romantic relationship with McNeil. McNeil, however, says he washed the bedsheets earlier the same day of Christina\u2019s death, as shown in a line item of a credit card statement submitted in court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/freebart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/image-8.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"975\" height=\"606\" src=\"https:\/\/freebart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/image-8.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2895\" srcset=\"https:\/\/freebart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/image-8.png 975w, https:\/\/freebart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/image-8-300x186.png 300w, https:\/\/freebart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/image-8-768x477.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 975px) 100vw, 975px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Barton McNeil, 62, at the Pinckneyville Correctional Center in 2021. McNeil is serving a 100-year prison sentence on murder charges for the 1998 death of his 3-year-old daughter Christina. Lawyers from the Illinois Innocence Project and the Exoneration Project began representing him about seven years ago and filed a petition for post-conviction relief in February.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">McNeil\u2019s petition also argues that evidence suggests that someone entered Christina\u2019s room through a window. He notes a window fan was knocked on the floor, holes were cut in the window screen, scuff marks were located outside the window and nearby plants were trampled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">McNeil\u2019s lawyers, who include John Hanlon and Stephanie Kamel, also wrote in his petition for relief that \u201cadvances in the science of child abuse pediatrics confirm that there is no evidence whatsoever that Christina was sexually abused and, therefore, the evidence presented to the trier of fact regarding McNeil\u2019s alleged motive was entirely false.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Prosecutors argued in Friday\u2019s motion that the \u201cnewly discovered evidence\u201d that McNeil\u2019s lawyers attribute to a doctor is instead \u201csimply &#8230; a different interpretation of the autopsy findings than the State\u2019s forensic pathologist.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">McNeil\u2019s lawyers have until April 21 to file a response to the state\u2019s motion to dismiss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A hearing for the state&#8217;s motion to dismiss is set for May 12.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Click HERE to view the article on The Pantagraph. The article can be played when&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3244,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[95],"tags":[7,100,31,26,109,6,57,22,106,104],"class_list":["post-2891","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-current-news-articles","tag-barton-mcneil","tag-charles-reynard","tag-christina-mcneil","tag-john-hanlon","tag-mclean-county","tag-misook-nowlin","tag-misook-nowlin-wang","tag-misook-wang","tag-stephanie-wong","tag-teena-griffin"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/freebart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Pantagraph-article-of-Bart.jpg",542,472,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/freebart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Pantagraph-article-of-Bart-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/freebart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Pantagraph-article-of-Bart-300x261.jpg",300,261,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/freebart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Pantagraph-article-of-Bart.jpg",542,472,false],"large":["https:\/\/freebart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Pantagraph-article-of-Bart.jpg",542,472,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/freebart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Pantagraph-article-of-Bart.jpg",542,472,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/freebart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Pantagraph-article-of-Bart.jpg",542,472,false],"covernews-featured":["https:\/\/freebart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Pantagraph-article-of-Bart.jpg",542,472,false],"covernews-medium":["https:\/\/freebart.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Pantagraph-article-of-Bart-540x340.jpg",540,340,true]},"author_info":{"display_name":"chris.ross","author_link":"https:\/\/freebart.org\/?author=3"},"category_info":"<a href=\"https:\/\/freebart.org\/?cat=95\" rel=\"category\">Current News Articles<\/a>","tag_info":"Current News Articles","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/freebart.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2891","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/freebart.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/freebart.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freebart.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freebart.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2891"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/freebart.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2891\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3245,"href":"https:\/\/freebart.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2891\/revisions\/3245"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freebart.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3244"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/freebart.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2891"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freebart.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2891"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freebart.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2891"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}