(LibertySociety.com) – On December 28, the New Jersey Supreme Court overturned Michelle Lodzinski’s 2016 murder conviction in her son’s death in 1991. In a 4-3 ruling, the court determined the jury did not convict the woman beyond a reasonable doubt, setting aside the previous verdict.
The Justices who voted to keep Lodzinski in prison said the reversal “undermines the jury’s role” in the US justice system. Unfortunately, that means justice for Timothy Wiltsey remains unserved.
The New Jersey Supreme Court has overturned the verdict in an infamous murder case dating back to 1991, the killing of 5-year-old Timothy Wiltsey. Michelle Lodzinski was released from a Hunterdon County prison on Tuesday. @AielloTV reports. https://t.co/xwoxzebEyM
— CBS New York (@CBSNewYork) December 28, 2021
In 1991, Lodzinski reported her 5-year-old son missing after he allegedly vanished from a park in Sayreville, New Jersey. A search ensued, but authorities didn’t discover the boy’s body until 1992. Officials gathered circumstantial evidence over the years and arrested his mother for his murder in 2014. A jury of her peers convicted her in 2016.
In 2019, an appeals court found the jury’s murder conviction was valid beyond a reasonable doubt. However, the highest court in the Garden State reviewed the case and found the evidence presented didn’t support the guilty verdict.
When Lodzinski heard the news, she reportedly cried with relief. Upon her release, she planned to return to Florida, where she’ll reside with her two remaining children.
Copyright 2022, LibertySociety.com
