click to enlarge
-
Dale Helmig was convicted of killing his mom
On March 9, 1996, Dale Helmig was convicted for the 1993 murder of his mother, Norma, and sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Now, thanks to UMKC law professor Sean O'Brien, the Midwestern Innocence Project and students from UMKC and Missouri University, Helmig was granted habeus corpus relief. A judge in DeKalb County found that Helmig's case "presents the rare circumstance in which no credible evidence remains from the first trial to support the conviction."
The case turned, in part, after a former Missouri state trooper and a county sheriff retracted their trial testimony.
Helmig's conviction was based not on physical evidence, but on Osage County Sheriff Carl Fowler's assertion that Helmig knew things only Norma's killer would know.
click to enlarge
-
Helmig's lawyer took this camera phone pic.
Helmig lived with his 55-year-old mother in 1993, and on July 30, he returned home from spending the night with a friend to find the house in disarray. Norma's car was parked outside, but inside, there were pillows on the floor, clothes on the bed, and a fan resting on its side as though it had been knocked over. The air conditioner was running, which was odd, because Norma always turned it off before leaving the house.
Helmig called the police to report his mother missing. Sheriff Fowler was suspicious of Helmig from the start. When Norma's body was found August 1, floating in the Osage River with a concrete block tied around her waist, she was dressed in her nightgown -- clothing that Helmig predicted Norma was wearing. Helmig also told Fowler that he didn't have a set of his mother's car keys, but they must be in her missing purse, even though she usually kept her keys clipped to her belt loop. Six months after her body was found, Norma's purse was discovered buried in the sand a mile and a half east of the Missouri River Bridge. Her keys were in it.
When Helmig was arrested March 5, 1994, a state trooper told him that Norma was watching over him and that he could speak to her if he wished. The trooper said Helmig began to sob and said, "I'm sorry, I'm just so sorry."
The prosecution argued that Helmig's motive for killing his mother was monetary: They'd fought over a $200 phone bill Helmig had run up a few days before Norma's death. Norma had also paid a recent car-towing bill for Helmig; the tow truck driver testified that Norma had said, "He better be happy because his meal ticket's about to run out." Norma's sister testified that Norma was afraid of her son.
Helmig's defense attorney decided to argue the case on the theory that Norma's death was accidental. Since he wasn't defending against a murder, the attorney didn't produce any witnesses who could have said that Helmig wouldn't have killed his mother over $200, that they had a very close relationship, and that other family members besides Helmig had guessed that Norma might be wearing a nightgown prior to the discovery of her body. The attorney advised Helmig not to testify.
Senior Circuit Judge
Warren E. McElwain granted Helmig post-conviction relief last week, calling the circumstantial evidence against him "thin," and pointing out that important alibi evidence had been overlooked.
Attorney General
Chris Koster announced yesterday that he will file an appeal on McElwain's ruling, stating: "Because our system of law is one of checks and balances, it is appropriate that the judge's decision be reviewed by the Missouri appellate courts before it is rendered final."
Professor O'Brien and another Kansas City attorney,
Bronwyn Werner, say they will continue to represent Helmig. They've filed a motion asking that he be released from prison as soon as possible. A telephone conference with McElwain on that motion is scheduled for tomorrow.
"Mr. Koster's office argued to Judge McElwain that for technical legal reasons, the court should ignore all of the new evidence pointing to Dale Helmig's innocence," O'Brien wrote in response to the AG's announcement. "Instead of a thorough review of all of the evidence, they will argue for a blind deference to the verdict of a misinformed jury. Judge McElwain rejected that argument, and the Court of Appeals will, too."
Comments (0)