Judge orders new trials in alleged ‘Satanic’ killing
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) – A Kentucky judge has vacated the convictions of two men whom prosecutors said were inspired by satanic worship to murder a woman in 1992.
The Courier-Journal reports Meade Circuit Judge Bruce T. Butler ordered new trials for Garr Keith Hardin and Jeffrey Dewayne Clark. The two men were convicted for the murder of 19-year-old Rhonda Sue Warford in part based on a hair found on her sweatpants that prosecutors said was a “microscopic match” to Hardin.
New DNA testing showed the hair did not come from Hardin.
Butler also said prosecutors were wrong to tell the jury a cup found in Hardin’s room was a “chalice” used to drink sacrificial animals’ blood. At the time, Hardin said he cut his hand on the cup. DNA testing confirmed the blood belonged to Hardin.
