Sean Washington

Washington made the 911 call himself

The unidentified 911 caller who reported finding the bodies was, in fact, Washington — he had gone to a nearby pay phone and spotted the victims on the way, fearing one was his nephew. Multiple witnesses later identified his voice on the recording, and his trial defense lawyer, once played the tape, said it was "absolutely clear" it was Washington.

A corroborated alibi never presented to the jury

Washington's cousin, Dwight Collins, testified at a post-conviction hearing that Washington was at his mother's house cooking chicken minutes before the shooting, left to use a pay phone, and returned "very emotional" and "crying" after seeing the bodies. Several other witnesses corroborated this account, but it was never presented to the original trial jury.

Forensic reconstruction contradicted the eyewitness

In 2013, prosecutors turned over discovery that included the 911 call for the first time. Forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Baden and firearms expert Lucien Haag later testified that bullet trajectories and "bow effect" ricochet scoring on the recovered bullets showed victim Margaret Wilson was shot while lying on the ground — directly contradicting eyewitness Denise Rand's account that she saw the victims shot while standing and fleeing.

Statements undermining the eyewitness's credibility

Two acquaintances of Denise Rand, both since deceased, gave statements that shortly after the 1996 trial, Rand told them she had not actually been present at or witnessed the murders.

Undocumented interrogation and photo identification

Police interrogated witnesses Denise Rand and Tyrone Moore separately after an informant's tip, and the photo display procedure that led to Rand naming Washington and Baker was never documented.

Inadequate trial defense

Washington's trial attorney, Michael Kahn, later testified he did very little to investigate Washington's account: he never interviewed the witnesses Washington named, never determined a timeline of events, and never consulted a forensic pathologist, firearms examiner, or shooting-reconstruction expert.

Sole eyewitness was impaired and inconsistent

The prosecution's own opening called it a "one-witness case." Denise Rand admitted she had smoked crack cocaine roughly two hours before the shooting and typically smoked every two to three hours. Her trial testimony repeatedly changed on cross-examination, including who she was with, where they were standing, and which defendant she said shot which victim — she needed her own prior police statement read back to her to attribute the shootings at all.

An unreliable polygraph used against a rival account

Rand's cousin, Tyrone Moore, initially told police he and Rand were blocks away when they heard the shots — an account matching other witnesses. An uncredentialed polygraph examiner then issued a report concluding Moore was lying, which was used to discount his contradicting account. Rand herself was never given a polygraph.