Convicted murderer seeks retrial after wife’s affair with defence lawyer revealed

Summary of story from aolnews.com, mind April 21, medicine 2011

Robert Caulley, discount from Ohio, who was convicted of murdering his parents 15 years ago, is seeking a new trial after he discovered that his wife and defence lawyer were having an affair both during and after the original trial.

Celeste Caulley Bowman and James Owen began their relationship in 1997, which ended in 1998 when Owen refused to leave his wife.

Caulley was ignorant of the relationship until told by Bowman’s mother a few years ago.  Bowman, having since remarried, has now issued an affidavit giving details of the affair.  She says it began when she was helping Owen research the original case.

Caulley’s parents were bludgeoned and stabbed to death in 1994 in what was thought to be a failed robbery.

The DNA of an unknown male was found on the weapon, but this was never linked to Caulley.

The case went unsolved for three years until Caulley confessed after 12 hours of interrogation, but now says that he was coerced into it.

Assistant Ohio public defender, Kim Rigby, is adamant that Caulley deserves a retrial and the evidence of his former wife’s infidelity should be grounds for this on its own but as yet no hearing date has been scheduled.