1987 Murder Conviction Dismissed, Defendant Freed

NEWPORT, Ky. (AP) – A nearly 30-year-old murder conviction against a Cincinnati man has been dismissed and he has walked away from a northern Kentucky courtroom a free man.

William “Ricky” Virgil was convicted of killing a nurse in Newport in 1987 and spent 28 years in prison before a judge granted him a new trial in 2015 and allowed him to be released on bond with an ankle monitor.

Media reported a judge dismissed the charge Friday after prosecutor Michelle Snodgrass said a grand jury decided earlier this month that there wasn’t enough evidence to move forward with another trial.

When the decision was announced, Virgil hugged attorneys from the Kentucky Innocence Project, who took his case in 2010. Its investigation showed DNA evidence at the scene was not connected to Virgil or the victim.