Wrongful conviction of David Camm
David Ray Camm is a former trooper of the Indiana State Police who spent 13 years in prison after twice being wrongfully convicted of the murders of his wife, Kimberly, and his two young children at their home in Georgetown, Indiana, on September 28, 2000. He was released from custody in 2013 after his third trial resulted in an acquittal. Charles Boney is currently serving time for the murders of Camm's wife and two children.
Initial investigation
Police were summoned to the Camm residence shortly after 9:30p.m. on September 28, 2000, to find Kim, Bradley, and Jill Camm shot to death in the garage of their home. David Camm told police that he returned home from playing basketball at a nearby church and found his wife shot to death on the garage floor. He then saw his daughter, Jill, sitting upright in the backseat, still strapped in her seatbelt. Brad was draped over the driver's side of the backseat as though he had been trying to get away from the assailant. Since both Kim and Jill had been shot through the head, Camm stated that he thought his son, who had no head injuries, might still be alive, so he entered the passenger front of the Bronco, went through the two front bucket seats and grabbed his son, taking him out, putting him on the garage floor, and giving him CPR.In the process, Camm had placed his left knee in the middle of the back seat, causing Jill's head and body to slump forward and to the left, contacting Camm's T-shirt. Bradley Camm was found lying on the garage floor and a later autopsy found he had been shot through his torso, severing his spine. Unseen in the darkened garage and not collected by evidence technicians was a gray sweatshirt bearing the name of BACKBONE in the collar. An ISP lab analyst later found unidentified female DNA on the front of the shirt and a private lab, hired by Camm's defense attorney Mike McDaniel, found unidentified male DNA in the collar. The blood and DNA of Kim Camm had also been discovered on that same sweatshirt.
First theory of the crime
Many false leads hampered the investigation of the murders. The theory of the crime at the time of the arrest was that Camm returned home from playing basketball, shot his family, and attempted a clean-up before abandoning this and calling the Sellersburg State Police post for help. Rob Stites, a crime scene photographer who was believed by the police to be a blood-spatter analyst, told police there was a clean-up at the crime scene and high-velocity impact spatter on the shirt Camm was wearing.Another piece of seemingly incriminating evidence was a phone bill indicating Camm had made a phone call from the residence at 7:19p.m. on the evening of the murder. He claimed to be playing basketball at the church from 7:00p.m. to approximately 9:30p.m. that evening. Camm also had a history of infidelity, which police believed was the motive for the murders.
Before long, the erroneous nature of several pieces of evidence was revealed. While the infidelity accusations were credible, it was discovered that most of the rest of the evidence on the probable cause affidavit was either inaccurate or unreliable. Based on the autopsies and other evidence, the time of death was determined to be around 8:00p.m., far earlier than the original estimate of 9:30p.m. giving Camm an alibi. The phone call that seemed to prove Camm was lying about his alibi was disproven. The phone company discovered the inaccuracy stemmed from the confusion regarding Indiana's complicated time zones. The call was made an hour earlier, at 6:19p.m.
The clean-up at the crime scene and the blood spatter on David's shirt were also questioned. It was discovered that there was not, in fact, a crime scene clean-up but the usual separation of blood when exposed to air for a while. Several other areas that Stites had claimed to be high-velocity impact spatter found at the crime scene were inaccurate interpretations, calling into question Stites' abilities.
Investigators stated that they investigated the foreign DNA on the sweatshirt found at the crime scene. However, there were no matches when it was run through CODIS.
Second theory of the crime
The discovery that the time of the murder was over an hour earlier than previously thought meant that Camm now had an alibi. Eleven witnesses told police he was with them playing basketball from 7:00p.m. until after 9:00p.m. The police changed their theory of the crime from a murder following the basketball game to one in which he snuck out of the basketball game, committed the murders, and then slipped back in without being noticed.Trials and appeals
First trial
The case went to trial in the spring of 2002, with the blood spatter as the main forensic evidence and the affairs listed as the motive. The prosecution argued that the bloodstains on Camm's shirt were the result of a high-velocity impact spatter, proving he was the shooter. Defense experts assert that the pattern was caused by transfer when his shirt had contact with Jill's hair as he was removing his son from the vehicle.During the trials, Bart Epstein, a bloodstain analyst for the defense, along with another analyst, demonstrated how the blood stains could have gotten on the shirt by running T-shirts over wigs containing blood. Similar patterns to the one on Camm's shirt were produced. Nevertheless, he was convicted.
In August 2004, the Indiana Court of Appeals overturned the conviction, citing the trial judge's decision to allow testimony from a dozen women who claimed they had had affairs with Camm or had been propositioned by him, which unfairly biased the jury because the prosecutor did not adequately connect those relationships with the murders. In November 2004, prosecutor Keith Henderson refiled charges against Camm.
Discovery of a second suspect
In early 2005, the defense asked that DNA from two unknown persons found on the sweatshirt at the crime scene be run through CODIS again. Defense lawyers claim the prosecution refused until they were finally compelled to by a court order. A match was found for the male DNA and it was discovered that particular DNA sample was never run prior to the first trial despite assurances from the prosecutor that the sample had been analyzed and returned no matches.Charles Boney, a convicted felon from nearby New Albany, was identified as the owner of the sweatshirt. He was out on parole at the time of the crime, having been convicted of committing a series of armed attacks on women, several of them involving the theft of shoes. The most recent attack was the armed robbery and attempted abduction of three women at gunpoint.
In some cases, there was evidence of stalking; some of Boney's previous victims had reported receiving harassing phone calls for a couple of months prior to the attacks asking them what they were wearing and if they were wearing high-heeled shoes. He had previously admitted to police that he had a foot fetish, a detail he later discussed with numerous news outlets. This detail was suspicious to the defense: Kim Camm's shoes were removed and lined up neatly on top of the vehicle in the midst of a messy crime scene. Kim had a series of bruises and abrasions to the top of both of her feet. Boney was interviewed and took a polygraph, in which he was determined to be deceptive. He denied any involvement, claiming that he donated the sweatshirt to charity and was cleared as a suspect. Two weeks later, his palm print was discovered on Kim's vehicle and he was arrested.
The other DNA sample was later identified as belonging to Mala Singh Mattingly, Boney's then-girlfriend.
It was discovered after his arrest that Stan Faith, the prosecutor in Camm's first trial, was Boney's attorney. During questioning, Boney asked to be represented by Faith but was told it was a conflict of interest. Boney admits to having discussed the case with Faith prior to becoming a suspect in the case. When asked about the failure of his office to identify Boney, Faith denied any intentional wrongdoing stating: "I regret it. I deeply regret it, but the myth that's growing out of this is false."
Third theory of the crime
Boney gave a number of conflicting confessions before he finally settled on one in which he was lured to the Camm residence under the guise of selling a gun to David Camm. He admitted to placing the shoes on the vehicle, but claimed he did it only coincidentally and not related to his foot fetish. Boney claimed that on September 28 he arrived at 7:00p.m. to meet Camm at the Camm residence to sell him a weapon—a meeting they arranged through chance meetings and without the use of a telephone. He handed Camm the weapon wrapped in his gray sweatshirt that was later found at the crime scene. Within seconds, Kim arrived home in her Bronco, Camm followed the Bronco into the garage and Boney heard three shots fired. Boney alleges that Camm then attempted to shoot him and stated "you did this". He claims that the gun either jammed or ran out of bullets. With Camm holding a now non-functioning weapon, Boney ran after Camm, chasing him back into the garage. Camm entered the house while Boney tripped and fell over Kim's shoes, which were off of her feet and on the garage floor. Boney stated that he picked up the shoes and placed them atop the Bronco. He then leaned against the vehicle to look at Brad and Jill, who were inside the vehicle, deceased. He explained that this was why his hand print was found on the vehicle.Based on testimony from other prosecution witnesses, Kim, Brad, and Jill were still alive and at the pool until 7:15 p.m. The timeline given by Boney of a shooting shortly after 7 p.m. also conflicts with the prosecution's timeline, which aligns with the medical examiner's estimation of an 8pm time of death. Aside from Boney's story, no additional evidence was ever found connecting Camm and Boney.