An Orange County Superior Court judge has tentatively granted a defense request for extensive DNA testing on evidence collected in a 1984 killing that sent a homeless man to prison.
For decades, Kenneth Clair has maintained his innocence in the slaying of a Santa Ana nanny, making him a cause celebre and sparking an online petition that gathered more than 160,000 national signatures in 2016 demanding a new trial.
There is considerable evidence that Clair is not guilty. DNA taken from vaginal swabs of the victim did not match Clair. Additionally, a child who witnessed the killing told police the attacker was White; Clair is Black.
With advancements in DNA analysis, Judge Sheila Hanson said on Friday, Nov. 3, that she would allow tests on pieces of evidence found at the crime scene that could not be tested at the time of the original investigation. The logistics for the testing are being determined for a final court order. Prosecutors did not oppose the new testing.
“It’s a positive step forward,” said Clair’s attorney, Michael Mortenson. “We’re really optimistic the testing will show none of (Clair’s) DNA is on the evidence. It may lead to the person who committed this terrible crime.”
Private investigator C.J. Ford, who has long championed Clair’s cause, believes the prisoner is on his way to exoneration.
“I’m happy,” Ford said Friday. “This has been beating me up for (nearly) 40 years.”
Clair is serving a life sentence after being convicted of murder solely on circumstantial evidence in 1987 for the death of Linda Faye Rodgers, 25, who was bludgeoned, stabbed and strangled in the master bedroom of a Santa Ana house where she worked.
The defense plans to test multiple articles of clothing that were tied around the victim’s neck and head, a hammer found nearby, a knife used to stab the victim twice, and the victim’s fingernails. Rodgers was found nude from the waist down, with a vibrator and three sticks near her legs….
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