Page 5 - William Yoder News Today

Lawyers for Barton McNeil should not be allowed to introduce evidence to support his claims that his former girlfriend confessed to the murder that put him behind bars for life, the state argues in a motion filed in McNeil’s petition for a new trial.

Barton McNeil was convicted of in the 1998 death of his 3-year-old daughter, Christina. McNeil has denied any involvement in the child’s death. He has urged Bloomington police to investigate his former girlfriend, Misook Nowlin, a woman with a history of violence and child abuse, as a possible suspect.

Sexual assault charges pending for seven years were dismissed Friday against Jeffrey Martin, a Normal man sentenced in February to 28 years in prison for possession of child pornography.

Alan Beaman accuses former Normal detectives Tim Freesmeyer, Frank Zayas and Dave Warner with conspiring to frame him in the 1993 strangulation death of Jennifer Lockmiller.

Michael Schneider worked as a staff member at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Bloomington before his arrest in June 2021 on the felony charges. He also spent time teaching piano lessons.

Jeffrey Martin also faces a trial in March on sexual assault charges.

In a significant departure, Sawai Chinnawong grounds his artistry in his own culture.

The "Does Innocence Matter?" rally focused on decades-long court battles that Jamie Snow and Bart McNeil have fought to have their murder convictions overturned.

Jeffrey Martin’s practice of hiring and firing his lawyers continued on Friday as a Chicago attorney was allowed to sever ties with the case, leaving Martin to serve as his own lawyer on sexual assault and child pornography charges pending since 2016.

Attorneys for Alan Beaman argue the judge handling his civil trial against three Normal police officers may not be partial. Beaman wants a McLean County judge to hear the case.