The Latest: Prosecutor offers apology to 'Dixmoor Five'
MARKHAM, Ill. (AP) - The Latest on murder charges in Chicago-area girl's 1991 death (all times local):
7:50 p.m.
An Illinois prosecutor has apologized to five men wrongly convicted and imprisoned in the 1991 rape and fatal shooting of a 14-year-old suburban Chicago girl.
Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez issued a statement Thursday after a judge denied bond to 58-year-old Willie Randolph on a murder charge in the death of that Dixmoor teenager, Cateresa Matthews.
Five years ago, DNA tests cleared the five men, known as the "Dixmoor Five," of all charges. They'd spent a decade or more in prison.
Alvarez offered "sincere apologies" to the men and their families. She says the "system did not protect them" and "victimized them in a way that can never possibly be repaired."
But she argued that reforms have been implemented "to ensure that no person is wrongfully convicted."
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7:15 p.m.
A judge has ordered a 58-year-old man held without bond on a murder charge in the 1991 kidnapping, rape and fatal shooting of a 14-year-old suburban Chicago girl.
A Cook County prosecutor said at a Thursday bond hearing that Willie Randolph kidnapped Dixmoor teenager Cateresa Matthews at a bus stop, then raped her and shot her through the mouth in a field.
The development comes years after DNA evidence cleared five other men who had originally been convicted in the case. The men, known as the "Dixmoor Five," spent a decade or more in prison before that DNA evidence pointed to Randolph, not them, in Cateresa's killing.
Randolph, a registered sex offender, is already serving a three-year sentence for drug possession in an Illinois state prison.
The Chicago Tribune reports more charges against Randolph are expected later. It wasn't immediately clear if he has an attorney who could comment on his behalf.
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10:30 a.m.
Prosecutors say a 58-year-old man will be charged with murder and kidnapping in the 1991 killing of a 14-year-old suburban Chicago girl.
More than two years ago, five men reached a $40 million settlement with Illinois State Police after they were cleared of all charges in the death of Dixmoor teenager Cateresa Matthews. The men, known as the "Dixmoor Five," spent a decade or more in prison before DNA evidence pointed to Willie Randolph, not them, in Cateresa's killing.
The Cook County State's Attorney's office says Randolph will appear in bond court on Thursday afternoon on charges of murder, kidnapping and predatory criminal sexual assault.
Randolph is already serving a three-year sentence for drug possession in an Illinois state prison.