Jeff Titus Agrees to $5.25 Million Settlement After Wrongful Conviction
Quick Look
- Jeff Titus, who spent over two decades in prison for a double murder, has agreed to a $5.25 million settlement.
- The settlement follows accusations that police withheld evidence that could have exonerated him.
- Titus was released in 2023 after prosecutors requested his murder convictions be erased, acknowledging an Ohio serial killer may have been responsible.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
Jeff Titus was convicted of murdering two hunters in 1990 and spent over two decades in prison. His conviction was later questioned due to withheld evidence and the potential involvement of an Ohio serial killer. Titus was released in 2023, and his convictions were erased.
A man who spent more than two decades behind bars for the deaths of two Michigan hunters agreed to a $5.25 million settlement, his lawyer announced Monday.
The agreement follows accusations that police failed to turn over evidence that could have exonerated him at trial.
Jeff Titus was released in 2023 and his murder convictions were erased at the request of prosecutors. The Innocence Clinic at University of Michigan law school and two investigators got authorities to acknowledge that an Ohio serial killer might have been the person who killed the hunters in 1990.
Titus had maintained his innocence throughout his lengthy incarceration.
“It's been a long road for Jeff,” attorney Wolf Mueller said.
“He's 74. He lost two decades of his life. The money doesn’t make up for the loss of decades, but it allows him to put this part of his life behind him.”
An email seeking comment from the lawyer who defended a retired homicide detective in the lawsuit wasn't immediately answered.
Doug Estes and Jim Bennett were fatally shot near Titus’ property in Kalamazoo County in 1990. Titus initially was cleared as a suspect, but murder charges were filed against him 12 years later. Prosecutors portrayed Titus as a hothead who didn’t like trespassers.
Students and staff at the University of Michigan law school were trying to get him a new trial when a 30-page file from the original investigation was discovered at the county sheriff’s office. It was a blockbuster: It referred to an alternate suspect, Thomas Dillon of Magnolia, Ohio.
Jacinda Davis, at the TV network Investigation Discovery, and Susan Simpson, through the podcast “Undisclosed,” had raised doubts about Titus’ guilt and aired questions about Dillon’s possible role.
Dillon died in prison in 2011. He was arrested in 1993 and ultimately pleaded guilty to killing five people in Ohio who had been hunting, fishing or jogging.
The lawsuit that was settled Monday did not center on Dillon as an alternate suspect. Rather, police were accused of violating Titus' rights by not sharing information that could have cast doubt on the trial testimony of a key witness, Mueller said.
Open Questions
- What specific evidence was withheld by police?
- Were any officers disciplined for the alleged misconduct?
- What was the exact role of Thomas Dillon in the 1990 killings?
- How will this settlement impact future police accountability in Michigan?
