Miscellaneous
A decade ago, the Journal Star produced Presumed Guilty, an eight-day series telling the story of a 1985 murder in Beatrice — and the troubled investigation that led to the wrongful conviction of six men and women. The group known as the Beatrice 6 collectively spent more than 70 years in prison before new DNA testing exonerated them in 2008. The botched investigation and wrongful convictions resulted in a judgment of more than $28 million that still looms over the heads of Gage County taxpayers and continues to make headlines to this day. The Journal Star’s award-winning 2009 series walked readers through the crime and its aftermath — from the rape and murder of Helen Wilson in her downtown Beatrice apartment to the day in 2008, when the last member of the Beatrice 6 walked out of prison to freedom. Starting on Sunday, the Journal Star revisits this important story in a new way. Sunday: A murder, then the trail goes cold. Monday: A persistent detective turns up the heat on a cold case. Tuesday: From prosecution to prison. Wednesday: A case crumbles, and the Beatrice 6 go free. Thursday: Where the case is and where it's been, through the eyes of two journalists.