MINI TRUE CRIME ROUNDUP: A man in jail for murder on debunked evidence, plus updates on Nolan Wells and the 'House of Horrors' case

Lauren Barry (0:02)

This is a True Crime Roundup from The On Deadline Podcast. We explore crime stories reported on by Audacy's radio newsrooms across the country. I'm your host, Lauren Barry.

In this episode, we'll hear about a man who is still in prison for allegedly killing his wife, though the evidence that put him there has reportedly been disproven. We'll also hear about the Nolan Wells case in Mississippi. A grand jury recently determined that there wasn't enough evidence to bring criminal charges in the case of the teen who was found dead after disappearing amid Independence Day celebrations. Questions still remain regarding Wells' death. At the end of the show, we'll preview the latest installment in The Only House, a special series from KYW Newsradio's Gone Cold Podcast. It's about the ongoing House of Horrors investigation in Philadelphia.

Dana Wright, Scott Parks, and Sam Stevie III, from the Dana and Parks show out of Audacy Station KMBZ in Kansas City, discussed this case about a man convicted of killing his wife. But does the evidence actually suggest otherwise? Let's listen.

Dana Wright (1:22)

We have an Alabama, quote, wife killer, who is set to be freed after 40 years in prison. You know what put him there?

Scott Parks (1:33)

What put him in prison?

Dana Wright (1:35)

Yep.

Scott Parks (1:35)

Killing his wife?

Dana Wright (1:36)

Nope.

Lauren Barry (1:37)

I don't know.

Dana Wright (1:38)

The junk science of a bite mark. Listen to this.

Scott Parks (1:43)

Oh, is he innocent?

Dana Wright (1:45)

Yep. An Alabama tech worker who spent more than four decades behind bars for the murder of his wife could soon walk free after a federal judge blasted evidence in his case as, quote, junk science and ordered a new trial. Charles McCrory was convicted of beating Julia Bonds McCrory to death in 1985 in a case that hung almost entirely on now debunked bite mark evidence that prosecutors claimed he made in a fit of rage.

But the evidence, which the trial's main dental expert has since recanted, is now considered largely unreliable and unscientific. The bite mark evidence clearly prejudiced the outcome of his trial, especially in light of the other evidence presented at trial, according to the judge. And not only are they now saying he likely did not do this, whoever did it's just been roaming free among us to bite other women and kill them.

Scott Parks (2:48)

What I've never understood is when a judge throws out a case or a conviction, I guess, in this case, why aren't you immediately set free?

Dana Wright (2:57)

Oh, it drives me crazy.

Scott Parks (2:58)

What's his name?

Dana Wright (2:59)

There was no path toward Sutherland, toward releasing.

Scott Parks (3:03)

Kevin Sutherland? Was it Kevin Sutherland? Why am I forgetting this guy's name? Oh, it's Kevin.

Dana Wright (3:08)

You're right. There was no... Remember, he missed his mother's funeral?

Scott Parks (3:11)

Yeah.

Dana Wright (3:12)

Because the prosecutor at the time said, we don't have a path that actual innocence leads to your release. There is no path.

Sam Stevie III (3:20)

Kevin Strickland. Kevin Strickland. Thank you.

Dana Wright (3:22)

They might have fixed that in the interim. I don't know. I hope.

SPEAKER_6 (3:26)

It's not an immediate release situation. It takes time, which was the same thing that he was facing.

Dana Wright (3:30)

But why?

Scott Parks (3:31)

That's what I don't understand, Sam, is why does it take so much time?

Dana Wright (3:35)

You know what they should do?

Once they declare you have not committed this crime, you're free to go. No, no, no. They should fine the county $1 million for every day that you are still held, because at that point, you're being kidnapped. You're being held unlawfully against your will. That is kidnapping.

Scott Parks (3:55)

But in the case of Kevin Strickland, nobody wanted to bring the case back.

Dana Wright (3:59)

They all said he didn't do it.

Scott Parks (4:00)

Everybody from his defense lawyers to the prosecutors, everybody said he didn't do it.

SPEAKER_6 (4:07)

JPB apologized on behalf of the office.

Scott Parks (4:09)

I remember. Now, she wasn't the prosecuting attorney at the time that he was sent to prison, but she was the prosecuting attorney at the time, and there was no evidence that he did it.

SPEAKER_6 (4:23)

Is it because they're frantically looking for other evidence to try to prove that they did do it?

Scott Parks (4:27)

Well, to go back to the case of Kevin Strickland, nobody was looking for any evidence.

Dana Wright (4:31)

In this case, the bite mark expert, which we now know to be completely unreliable, took back his testimony in an affidavit, wait for it, in 2019, took back his own testimony seven years ago, said, I no longer believe the individualized teeth marks comparison testimony I offered in this case was reliable or proper. That was seven years ago, and still this man sits behind bars.