For the first time in 18 years, John Kogut, John Restivo and Dennis Halstead stepped out into the arms of their relatives as free men. Each had been convicted in the murder of 16-year-old Theresa Fusco, whose nude body was found on Dec. 5, 1984, buried under a wooden pallet covered by leaves in a wooded area of Long Island, N.Y.
The teen had been raped and strangled, and her body was left near the Long Island roller skating rink where she had worked. Several months later prosecutors charged Kogut, Restivo, and Halstead. The three were later convicted on rape and murder charges and sentenced to more than 30 years in prison.
But new DNA evidence showed that semen found on Fusco's body was from another man.
John Restivo was 27 when he went to prison. Now, at 44, he's enjoying his freedom and his mother's pasta dinner for the first time in 18 years.
"For years ? someone would ask me 'how I'm doing today?' I'd say 'not good, I woke up on the wrong side of the wall this morning.' Yesterday I was able to say, I woke up on the right side of the wall this morning," Restvio told ABCNEWS' Good Morning America.
Kogut, who was 22 when he went to prison, is now 39. He and his fiancee grew apart while he was in prison and are now trying to salvage their relationship.
"We're working on seeing if we can work this out and get back together and see what happens," Kogurt said.
Now 48 and a Grandfather of Four
Halstead went to prison when he was 31. He is now 48, and became a grandfather of four while he was behind bars.
"Naturally, there will be anger and bitterness ? something I'm going to have to deal with, but I just want to go on with my life and try to make it through, one day at a time," Halstead said. "It's going to take a long time to build my life."
From the start, the men insisted that they were innocent and that the case against them hinged on a coerced confession.
Defense lawyers said that Kogut gave a videotaped confession, only after more than 18 hours of interrogation and sleep deprivation. In it, he said that Fusco had gotten into a van with him and the two other men. The three sometimes worked for a moving company that Restivo's family owned.
In his confession, Kogut said that the four had driven to a nearby cemetery where Restivo and Halstead raped Fusco and convinced him to strangle her. They then dumped the body near the skating rink, he told police.
Kogut later recanted the confession, but it, coupled with testimony of several inmates was enough to get a conviction against all three at trial. DNA tests conducted in the early 1990s gave mixed results, but two years ago a more advanced DNA technique showed that the DNA found on the victim's body did not match any of the three men.
Meanwhile, Nassau County Chief Assistant District Attorney Patrick McCormack said the decision to vacate the convictions "does not exonerate these defendants."
McCormack said the prosecutor's office intends to conduct a complete review of the case, with a retrial looming as a possibility.
Halstead's defense attorney, Adele Bernhard, says she doesn't believe that a retrial is a possibility due to the latest DNA results.
"My feeling is they will never retry this case," Bernhard said. "I believe they will find the person that committed this crime," she said.
Barry Scheck, Restivo's attorney, said the decision to vacate the convictions was a long time coming.
"Once again, DNA testing has exposed the tragic fact that innocent people are accused, tried and convicted on a regular basis in the American criminal justice system," Scheck said.
-- ABC News
The teen had been raped and strangled, and her body was left near the Long Island roller skating rink where she had worked. Several months later prosecutors charged Kogut, Restivo, and Halstead. The three were later convicted on rape and murder charges and sentenced to more than 30 years in prison.
But new DNA evidence showed that semen found on Fusco's body was from another man.
John Restivo was 27 when he went to prison. Now, at 44, he's enjoying his freedom and his mother's pasta dinner for the first time in 18 years.
"For years ? someone would ask me 'how I'm doing today?' I'd say 'not good, I woke up on the wrong side of the wall this morning.' Yesterday I was able to say, I woke up on the right side of the wall this morning," Restvio told ABCNEWS' Good Morning America.
Kogut, who was 22 when he went to prison, is now 39. He and his fiancee grew apart while he was in prison and are now trying to salvage their relationship.
"We're working on seeing if we can work this out and get back together and see what happens," Kogurt said.
Now 48 and a Grandfather of Four
Halstead went to prison when he was 31. He is now 48, and became a grandfather of four while he was behind bars.
"Naturally, there will be anger and bitterness ? something I'm going to have to deal with, but I just want to go on with my life and try to make it through, one day at a time," Halstead said. "It's going to take a long time to build my life."
From the start, the men insisted that they were innocent and that the case against them hinged on a coerced confession.
Defense lawyers said that Kogut gave a videotaped confession, only after more than 18 hours of interrogation and sleep deprivation. In it, he said that Fusco had gotten into a van with him and the two other men. The three sometimes worked for a moving company that Restivo's family owned.
In his confession, Kogut said that the four had driven to a nearby cemetery where Restivo and Halstead raped Fusco and convinced him to strangle her. They then dumped the body near the skating rink, he told police.
Kogut later recanted the confession, but it, coupled with testimony of several inmates was enough to get a conviction against all three at trial. DNA tests conducted in the early 1990s gave mixed results, but two years ago a more advanced DNA technique showed that the DNA found on the victim's body did not match any of the three men.
Meanwhile, Nassau County Chief Assistant District Attorney Patrick McCormack said the decision to vacate the convictions "does not exonerate these defendants."
McCormack said the prosecutor's office intends to conduct a complete review of the case, with a retrial looming as a possibility.
Halstead's defense attorney, Adele Bernhard, says she doesn't believe that a retrial is a possibility due to the latest DNA results.
"My feeling is they will never retry this case," Bernhard said. "I believe they will find the person that committed this crime," she said.
Barry Scheck, Restivo's attorney, said the decision to vacate the convictions was a long time coming.
"Once again, DNA testing has exposed the tragic fact that innocent people are accused, tried and convicted on a regular basis in the American criminal justice system," Scheck said.
-- ABC News
