AUSTIN, Texas, Oct. 17 (UPI) -- The Texas attorney general's office says it will re-investigate and possibly prosecute in a 1986 killing after DNA evidence cleared the victim's husband.
Michael Morton, convicted and given a life sentence in 1987 in the killing of his wife Christine Morton, was released after DNA tests recently identified a one-time Austin man as a suspect in Christine Morton's death and the similar 1988 killing of an Austin woman, The Austin American-Statesman reported Monday.
The suspect has felony convictions or charges in four states and lived just blocks from the Austin victim when she was killed, court records show.
The suspect is apparently not yet in custody, the newspaper said.
Williamson County District Attorney John Bradley said he asked the state attorney general's office to appoint a special prosecutor because it has expertise in leading complex cases, particularly cold cases.
"Given the complexities and age of the Morton case, I wanted to make sure that we had an office and a special prosecutor with substantial experience who could carry this case forward," Bradley said.
