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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Murder |
Sentence: |
25 years |
Years Imprisoned: |
3 |
Year Crime: |
2004 |
Year Convicted: |
2011 |
Year Cleared: |
2014 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Texas |
County or Region of Crime: |
Denton |
City of Crime: |
Denton |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated |
Summary of Case: |
"Charles Stobaugh was wrongly convicted on February 16, 2011 of murdering his wife Kathy in Denton County, Texas on December 29, 2004. Stobaugh's defense was there was no evidence his wife was dead or that he killed her, The Stobaugh's were divorcing, and the prosecution was based on circumstantial evidence and inferences that Kathy must be dead because she was last seen on December 29, and he had the motive and opportunity to kill his wife. After his conviction by a jury he was sentenced to 25 years in prison on February 18, 2011. On January 23, 2014 the Texas Court of Appeals overturned Stobaugh's conviction and ordered his acquittal based on the facts "there is no body, no murder weapon, no witnesses, no blood or DNA evidence; there are no fibers, hairs, or any type of forensic evidence establishing that a murder occurred; and there is no confession or directly incriminatory statement by Charles." With no evidence that Stobaugh committed a murder the Court ordered his acquittal. " |
Conviction Caused By: |
Circumstantial evidence and inferences that Kathy Stobaugh was dead and her husband Charles had motive and opportunity to have killed her. |
Innocence Proved By: |
"On January 23, 2014 the Texas Court of Appeals overturned Stobaugh's conviction and ordered his acquittal based on the facts "there is no body, no murder weapon, no witnesses, no blood or DNA evidence; there are no fibers, hairs, or any type of forensic evidence establishing that a murder occurred; and there is no confession or directly incriminatory statement by Charles." With no evidence that Stobaugh committed a murder the Court ordered his acquittal." |
Defendant Aided By: |
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Compensation Awarded: |
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Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
55 |
Age When Released: |
58 |
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
White |
Information Source 1: |
"Charles Stobaugh v. The State of Texas, No. 02-11-00157-CR (2nd Dist. Ct. of Appeals, 1-23-2014) (Opinion)" |
Information Location 1: |
http://www.search.txcourts.gov/SearchMedia.aspx?MediaVersionID=07fe91d1-a083-4d5e-a0f8-f00ca81c7cb4&coa=coa02&DT=Opinion&MediaID=c85a2aa1-b0a6-4be1-a4c1-51b31c9f25dc |
Information Source 2: |
"Charles Stobaugh v. The State of Texas, No. 02-11-00157-CR (2nd Dist. Ct. of Appeals, 1-23-2014) (Judgment)" |
Information Location 2: |
http://www.search.txcourts.gov/SearchMedia.aspx?MediaVersionID=ca3aeac7-0329-47c7-9940-1b18eadf9aef&coa=coa02&DT=Opinion&MediaID=8015b17b-c2ac-4122-8416-01cbc5ef78bc |
Information Source 3: |
"Charles Stobaugh v. The State of Texas, No. 02-11-00157-CR (2nd Dist. Ct. of Appeals, 1-23-2014), Docket" |
Information Location 3: |
http://www.search.txcourts.gov/Case.aspx?cn=02-11-00157-CR |
Information Source 4: |
"Stobaugh conviction overturned, By Peggy Heinkel-Wolfe (Staff Writer), Denton Record-Chronicle (Denton, TX), January 27, 2014" |
Information Location 4: |
http://www.dentonrc.com/local-news/local-news-headlines/20140127-stobaugh-conviction-overturned.ece |
Information Source 5: |
"Denton County jury finds Charles Stobaugh guilty of murdering estranged wife as final divorce decree neared in 2004, By Donna Fielder (Staff Writer), The Dallas Morning News, February 17, 2011" |
Information Location 5: |
http://www.dallasnews.com/news/community-news/denton-county/20110217-denton-county-jury-finds-charles-stobaugh-guilty-of-murdering-estranged-wife-as-final-divorce-decree-neared-in-2004.ece |
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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org