|
Wrongly Convicted Database Record
|
Charge: |
Murder |
Sentence: |
15 years |
Years Imprisoned: |
1.4 |
Year Crime: |
1999 |
Year Convicted: |
2001 |
Year Cleared: |
2004 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Spain |
County or Region of Crime: |
Andalucia |
City of Crime: |
|
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated Released |
Summary of Case: |
"Dolores Vázquez was wrongly convicted in the Andalucia area of Spain by a jury in September 2001 of the 1999 murder of Rocio Wanninkhof, the 18-year-old daughter of a woman Vázquez was romantically involved with in a lesbian relationship. Although there was no physical evidence linking Vázquez to the crime and she didn't confess, was convicted and sentenced to 15 years in prison. In February 2002 the Andalucia High Court overturned Vázquez's conviction on a technicality and ordered a retrial. Vázquez was released on 180,000 (euro) bail. While Vazquez was awaiting retrial, DNA testing of a cigarette found at the crime scene matched the DNA found at the scene of the murder of a 17-year-old girl in 2003. A woman reported to the police that she suspected her husband Tony Alexander King committed the murder King, an expatriate from England, had a history of assaulting women. His DNA was compared to and matched the DNA recovered from the murders of the two women. Faced with the scientific evidence, King confessed to killing Rocío, he had knowledge of undisclosed details of the crime and he told police he had never met Vázquez. Based on the new evidence the murder charges were dismissed against Vázquez in August 2004. Dolores Vázquez was wrongly imprisoned for 17 months. In January 2006 she filed a claim for €4 million (euros). The record of Vázquez's prosecution was expunged in March 2009. Spain's Interior Ministry initially proposed damages of 120,000 euros, but in a later ruling the General Council for Judicial Power and Interior Ministry unanimously agreed there had been no miscarriage of justice and ruled out any compensation. In January 2010 Vázquez filed a lawsuit with Spain's National Court for €4 million (euros). In 2005 King was sentenced to 36 years in prison for the death of Sonia Carabantes and to an additional seven years for an unrelated sexual attack he had committed. In 2006 he was found guilty of the death of Rocío Wanninkhof and was sentenced to 19 years in prison for that crime." |
Conviction Caused By: |
|
Innocence Proved By: |
"Conviction overturned in February 2002 by the Andalucia High Court, which ordered a retrial." |
Defendant Aided By: |
|
Compensation Awarded: |
|
Was Perpetrator Identified? |
Yes |
Age When Imprisoned: |
51 |
Age When Released: |
52 |
Sex: |
Female |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
White |
Information Source 1: |
"King To Be Tried Alone In Wanninkhof Case, Oliver McIntyre (staff), Costa del Sol News (Benalmadena (Malaga), Spain), August 19 - August 26, 2004." |
Information Location 1: |
http://www.andalucia.com/news/cdsn/2004-08-25.htm |
Information Source 2: |
"Dolores vázquez sues state, by Oliver McIntyre, Costa del Sol News (Benalmadena (Malaga), Spain), Jan 26 - Feb 1, 2006" |
Information Location 2: |
http://www.andalucia.com/news/cdsn/2006-02-01.htm |
Information Source 3: |
"Dolores Vázquez in new battle for compensation, The Olive Press, January 18, 2011" |
Information Location 3: |
http://www.theolivepress.es/2011/01/18/dolores-vazquez-in-new-battle-for-compensation/ |
Information Source 4: |
|
Information Location 4: |
|
Information Source 5: |
|
Information Location 5: |
|
Book About Case: |
|
Book Information: |
|
Book About Case (2): |
|
Book Information (2): |
|
Movie About Case: |
|
Comments About Case: |
Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org