Jury Clears Richard Tuite of Killing Stephanie Crowe

San Diego, CA: A jury has cleared a mentally-ill transient in the 1998 death of 12-year-old schoolgirl Stephanie Crowe. Richard Tuite had been convicted in 2004 of the voluntary manslaughter of the young girl. However, he was granted a retrial, which started in October of this year. The jury returned their verdict earlier today.

The case initially made headlines in 1998 when the police force were accused of eliciting a false confession from Stephanie's teenage brother, Michael Crowe, and two of his friends. They were eventually declared "factually innocent" by a judge. The Crowe family sued the police force and reportedly settled for $7.25 million in 2011.


Video of Verdict Reading: