USA - Ohio. Judge Robert McClelland threw out the murder conviction of Anthony Apanovitch

Cuyahoga County judge Robert McClelland threw out the January 1985 murder conviction of Anthony Apanovitch based on DNA evidence, and ordered a new trial into the Aug. 24, 1984 rape and slaying of Mary Anne Flynn, 33. Judge McClelland also acquitted Apanovitch, now 59, White, of 1 count of rape and dismissed another count of rape. McClelland ordered Apanovitch to be released on $100,000 personal bond, pending the new trial. Based on the decisions involving the rape allegations, the new trial would focus solely on the charges of aggravated murder and aggravated burglary. County Prosecutor Timothy J. McGinty said he will take the case to the Ohio 8th District Court of Appeals. In his 9-page ruling, McClelland cited a hearing in October in which experts testified about the DNA in the case. "The evidence at the hearing is substantially different than at the original trial, and the earlier decision is, at least in part, clearly erroneous and would work a manifest injustice." The judge said a suspect's DNA was found in two places in Flynn's body. One sample did not contain enough material for a valid result, according to McClelland's ruling. The judge said Apanovitch's expert, Dr. Richard Staub, stressed that the other sample excluded him.