Three men convicted of killing an elderly woman in suburban Philadelphia deserve new trials, a judge ruled Thursday.
Derrick Chappell, Morton Johnson and Samuel Grasty were found guilty in the killing of Henrietta Nickens, 70, in October 1997 in Chester, Pa. But lawyers for the three men say DNA evidence should exonerate them in the case.
Delaware County Common Pleas Judge Mary Alice Brennan ordered new trials for all three men in a Thursday decision, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. Brennan first heard evidence in the case last July.
Plenty of DNA evidence was obtained from the crime scene, but none of it matched Chappell, Grasty or Johnson, according to their attorneys. All of the DNA matched the same person, but that individual has never been identified.
Chappell, now 41, Johnson, 43, and Grasty, 46, were convicted on the testimony of a 15-year-old boy, Richard McElwee. The teen said he acted as a lookout as Chappell, 15 at the time, Johnson, 18, and Grasty, 20, broke into Nickens’ apartment.
The three men have claimed throughout the legal process that they are innocent. According to their lawyers, DNA was found on Nickens’ bed, on a green jacket left in her apartment, and on a straw inside the jacket, but none of it matched any of the men convicted. The jacket also held a bag with cocaine residue, according to police.
The same man’s DNA was found on all three items, and matched semen found inside Nickens, according to court documents.
Chappell, Johnson and Grasty were all sentenced to life in prison, though Chappell’s sentence was later changed to 28 years to life because he was convicted as a juvenile.
The Delaware County District Attorney’s Office did not immediately comment on Thursday’s ruling. Prosecutors could choose to drop the case instead of seeking a retrial.
“Just because there is an absence of DNA of a defendant at a crime scene doesn’t mean they are innocent,” District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer said in July 2023. “I think people who watch too much ‘CSI’ or TV don’t quite understand that people can commit vile acts and not leave DNA at the scene.”
