Staker DNA evidence could set man free — but not yet

Lake County State's Attorney Michael Nerheim said Friday he would immediately request the release of a Chicago man convicted of murder in 2004 -- if evidence shows he is innocent.

However, Nerheim said it is too soon to know if the unexpected match between DNA recovered at the 1992 murder of 11-year-old Holly Staker in Waukegan and DNA recovered from a separate 2000 attack in North Chicago exonerates Marvin Williford.

Williford, 43, of Chicago, was convicted of the grisly murder of Delwin Foxworth and sentenced to 80 years in prison. In a January 2000 robbery of his North Chicago apartment, Foxworth was beaten with a 2x4, bound with duct tape and set on fire. He initially survived, but died from his injuries in August 2002.

Now, DNA recovered from the 2x4 has been matched to a DNA sample taken from the murder of Holly Staker, until now thought to be an entirely separate crime.

Staker, 11, was found stabbed, raped and strangled inside a Waukegan apartment where she and her twin sister, Heather, frequently baby-sat two small children.

Juan Rivera, formerly of Waukegan, spent 20 years in prison for Staker's murder, convicted by three separate juries. DNA evidence eventually exonerated him, and he was released from prison in January 2012. No one else has since been charged with the crime.

Like Rivera, Williford has long maintained his innocence and never confessed to the crime, said attorney David Owens of the Exoneration Project at the University of Chicago Law School.

The DNA recovered from both crime scenes does not match Williford's, authorities have said.

Owens, who is a co-counsel for Williford, said a new trial may be in order.

"The fact that his DNA is not on there is strong evidence of his innocence," Owens said. "But, we also know the DNA of the person that raped Holly Staker matched DNA found on the 2x4 in the Foxworth murder. So, we can easily surmise the same person was somehow involved in both crimes."

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Staker DNA evidence could set man free -- but not yet