04/28/2008

Associated Press

DNA evidence from a 1992 murder could not have come from the man who was found guilty of the killing and is serving a 60-year sentence for the crime, authorities said.

The Southeast Missourian reported Monday that tests of blood samples taken from the murder scene of Angela "Mischelle" Lawless show the blood could not have come from Joshua Kezer, who has been imprisoned nearly 15 years for the killing.

Kezer's attorney Charles Weiss has filed a motion that could overturn Kezer's conviction. A Cole County judge will hear arguments for Weiss's motion at a June 9 hearing in Jefferson City.

Scott County Sheriff Rick Walter reopened the Lawless homicide investigation in 2006 after he became convinced that new evidence might prove Kezer's innocence. Kezer was convicted during his 1994 trial based largely on witness testimony. A number of witnesses have since changed their stories, saying they implicated Kezer to get lighter sentences for criminal charges they faced at the time.

As part of the new investigation, Walter had physical evidence from the crime scene retested using modern DNA analysis. No other suspect has been identified from the DNA evidence, although Walter wants it to be sent to a national database of convicted offenders.

Lawless was found shot to death in her car at a highway exit ramp near Benton in November 1992. Police believe she struggled with one or more attackers outside her car. Physical evidence in the case includes nail clippings, fingernail scrapings, and several blood samples taken from the crime scene and multiple suspects.

Kezer, 33, was convicted of the killing when he was a teenager. He was initially implicated in the crime while jailed on separate charges. Fellow inmates claimed he bragged about killing Lawless, although they later retracted the claims.

Since his incarceration, Kezer's mother, Joan Kezer, has become a tireless advocate for his cause, collecting evidence in the case and evening hiring a private detective to look into the matter.

Relatives say Joshua Kezer was in Illinois when Lawless was murdered, so he could not have participated in the crime.

The prosecutor in Kezer's 1994 case was then-assistant attorney general Kenny Hulshof, who is now a U.S. Congressman and Republican gubernatorial candidate. Hulshof declined to comment to the Southeast Missourian about Kezer's case.

On June 9, Cole County Circuit Court Judge Richard Callahan will hold the first hearing to determine if Kezer's conviction should be overturned or a new trial held.

In an interview with the Southeast Missourian, Kezer said he knows the true victim in the case remains Lawless, and he never wants anyone to lose sight of that.

"I was brought into this as involuntarily as she was," he said.

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Information from: Southeast Missourian, http://www.semissourian.com