donnay
08-23-2012, 10:34 AM
Mother convicted of killing her son, three, walks free after spending 16 years in jail for a crime she says she didn't commit
Kristine Bunch, 38, was sentenced to 60 years in prison in 1996 after a jury convicted her of killing three-year-old Tony
But Court of Appeals orders retrial after new evidence casts doubt on conviction
By Daily Mail Reporter (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2192379/Mother-convicted-killing-son-walks-free-spending-16-years-jail-crime-says-didnt-commit.html?ITO=1490)
PUBLISHED: 03:15 EST, 23 August 2012 | UPDATED: 09:42 EST, 23 August 2012
A mother jailed for murdering her young son in an arson attack has been released from prison after spending 16 years behind bars for a crime she insists she did not commit.
Kristine Bunch, 38, was sentenced to 60 years in prison in 1996 after a jury convicted her of pouring kerosene in the bedroom of three-year-old Tony and setting it on fire.
But scientific breakthroughs and new evidence has cast doubt on the original conviction.
Bunch was greeted by her overjoyed mother Susan Hubbard, 58, and her 16-year-old son, Trenton, after she was released from prison in Greensburg, Indiana, yesterday.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/08/23/article-2192379-14A7A746000005DC-425_634x636.jpg
Freedom: Kristine Bunch, right, hugs her mother Susan Hubbard, after being released in Greensburg, Indiana, having spent 16 years behind bars for a crime she said she did not commit
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/08/23/article-2192379-14AA1751000005DC-811_634x461.jpg
Original trial: More than 13 years after being convicted and sent to prison for killing her son in an arson fire, Kristine Bunch is hoping a judge will throw out her murder conviction and grant her a new trial
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/08/23/article-2192379-14AA179E000005DC-225_634x467.jpg
Freed: Kristine Bunch, 38, was sentenced to 60 years in prison in 1996 after a jury convicted her of pouring kerosene in the bedroom of three-year-old Tony and setting it on fire
Taking in her first breaths of freedom in 16 years, a jubilant Bunch said she looked forward to doing the everyday things that most people take for granted, like shopping, eating out, and using the Internet, which she has never seen.
‘I can learn how to Facebook,’ she said. ‘All my friends tell me they're on Facebook.’
She faces a retrial in March, next year, after the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled that the evidence used to convict her was outdated, weak and wrongly withheld from the defence.
A Decatur County judge granted her $5,000 cash bail at the suggestion of prosecutors.
On June 30, 1995, firefighters were called to Bunch's Greensburg mobile home to find it fully engulfed in flames.
She was standing outside and told crews she tried to get to her son, but the flames were too hot.
The body of the three-year-old was found huddled between the ashes of a burned bed and wall in a bedroom.
The original trial heard that Bunch poured kerosene in the bedroom of her son and the living room of their mobile home before setting it ablaze.
No clear motive was ever established, but prosecutors said Bunch, of Columbus, Indiana, had asked a friend to take custody of the boy about a year before the fire so she could ‘get away from it all’ and that she had made inconsistent statements about the blaze.
Chicago attorney Ron Safer told WTLX.com that the new evidence made it impossible for the fire to have happened the way the state alleged and that tests were incorrect.
In actuality, tests showed Tony died from carbon monoxide poisoning. Had the fire been started in his room, as it was alleged, the child would have died of burns from the fire rather than smoke inhalation.
Bunch likened her experiences to a nightmare that wouldn't end and said that though she was in a state of shock about being released, she was joyful that she has the chance to prove the conviction was a mistake.
'I haven't been by myself,' she said. 'I had a family that stood by me. I had people that believed in me and stepped up. And you can't receive blessings like that and be bitter.'
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/08/23/article-2192379-14AA175E000005DC-388_634x445.jpg
Scene: On June 30, 1995, firefighters were called to Bunch's Greensburg mobile home to find it fully engulfed in flames. She was standing outside and told crews she tried to get to her son, but the flames were too hot
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/08/23/article-2192379-14AA176F000005DC-50_634x451.jpg
Horrible tragedy? The body of three-year-old Tony Bunch was found huddled between the ashes of a burned bed and wall in a bedroom
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/08/23/article-2192379-14AA1797000005DC-741_634x455.jpg
Nightmare: Bunch said she was initially in a state of shock upon being sentenced to 60 years for arson and the murder of her son and likened it to a bad dream that wouldn't end
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/08/23/article-2192379-14A7A7E1000005DC-841_634x634.jpg
Life on the outside: Kristine Bunch, left, with her mother Susan Hubbard, says she looks forward to learning how to use Facebook now she has been released from prison
In the meantime, Bunch said she will live with her mother and her son, in nearby Columbus, Indiana.
‘It was horrible, but I knew if I held on to my faith that justice would prevail. The truth usually has a way of coming out,’ Hubbard, Bunch's mother, said.
Bunch's attorney, Ron Safer, said prosecutors ‘did exactly the right thing’ by asking for a low bond, but he was disappointed they still planned another trial in light of scientific advances that he said suggest there was no real evidence of arson.
Prosecutors have had little to say except that they are seeking a gag order to restrict attorneys' public comments on the case. A hearing on their request is scheduled for August 30, and Bunch was ordered to attend.
Bunch said a prison ministry helped her maintain her faith while she was in prison. ‘I knew it was going to work out in the end,’ she said.
While locked up, Bunch earned her GED and a college degree. She said she plans to go to law school if acquitted.
She wants to work in criminal law, representing inmates who have been wrongfully convicted.
‘There's still a lot of work to be done. There's still a lot of people in my situation,’ Bunch said.
The family was taking Bunch out Wednesday night for her first meal besides prison food in years, at a seafood restaurant in Columbus.
She now faces a struggle to adjust to life outside of prison - and adapt to the vast changes which have taken place since her jailing.
But of all the technological changes since she was last out of prison, Bunch said cellphones, which have evolved from unwieldy boxes with thick antennas to sleek little machines, impress her the most.
‘I'm amazed by the cellphones,’ she said.
Kristine Bunch, 38, was sentenced to 60 years in prison in 1996 after a jury convicted her of killing three-year-old Tony
But Court of Appeals orders retrial after new evidence casts doubt on conviction
By Daily Mail Reporter (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2192379/Mother-convicted-killing-son-walks-free-spending-16-years-jail-crime-says-didnt-commit.html?ITO=1490)
PUBLISHED: 03:15 EST, 23 August 2012 | UPDATED: 09:42 EST, 23 August 2012
A mother jailed for murdering her young son in an arson attack has been released from prison after spending 16 years behind bars for a crime she insists she did not commit.
Kristine Bunch, 38, was sentenced to 60 years in prison in 1996 after a jury convicted her of pouring kerosene in the bedroom of three-year-old Tony and setting it on fire.
But scientific breakthroughs and new evidence has cast doubt on the original conviction.
Bunch was greeted by her overjoyed mother Susan Hubbard, 58, and her 16-year-old son, Trenton, after she was released from prison in Greensburg, Indiana, yesterday.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/08/23/article-2192379-14A7A746000005DC-425_634x636.jpg
Freedom: Kristine Bunch, right, hugs her mother Susan Hubbard, after being released in Greensburg, Indiana, having spent 16 years behind bars for a crime she said she did not commit
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/08/23/article-2192379-14AA1751000005DC-811_634x461.jpg
Original trial: More than 13 years after being convicted and sent to prison for killing her son in an arson fire, Kristine Bunch is hoping a judge will throw out her murder conviction and grant her a new trial
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/08/23/article-2192379-14AA179E000005DC-225_634x467.jpg
Freed: Kristine Bunch, 38, was sentenced to 60 years in prison in 1996 after a jury convicted her of pouring kerosene in the bedroom of three-year-old Tony and setting it on fire
Taking in her first breaths of freedom in 16 years, a jubilant Bunch said she looked forward to doing the everyday things that most people take for granted, like shopping, eating out, and using the Internet, which she has never seen.
‘I can learn how to Facebook,’ she said. ‘All my friends tell me they're on Facebook.’
She faces a retrial in March, next year, after the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled that the evidence used to convict her was outdated, weak and wrongly withheld from the defence.
A Decatur County judge granted her $5,000 cash bail at the suggestion of prosecutors.
On June 30, 1995, firefighters were called to Bunch's Greensburg mobile home to find it fully engulfed in flames.
She was standing outside and told crews she tried to get to her son, but the flames were too hot.
The body of the three-year-old was found huddled between the ashes of a burned bed and wall in a bedroom.
The original trial heard that Bunch poured kerosene in the bedroom of her son and the living room of their mobile home before setting it ablaze.
No clear motive was ever established, but prosecutors said Bunch, of Columbus, Indiana, had asked a friend to take custody of the boy about a year before the fire so she could ‘get away from it all’ and that she had made inconsistent statements about the blaze.
Chicago attorney Ron Safer told WTLX.com that the new evidence made it impossible for the fire to have happened the way the state alleged and that tests were incorrect.
In actuality, tests showed Tony died from carbon monoxide poisoning. Had the fire been started in his room, as it was alleged, the child would have died of burns from the fire rather than smoke inhalation.
Bunch likened her experiences to a nightmare that wouldn't end and said that though she was in a state of shock about being released, she was joyful that she has the chance to prove the conviction was a mistake.
'I haven't been by myself,' she said. 'I had a family that stood by me. I had people that believed in me and stepped up. And you can't receive blessings like that and be bitter.'
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/08/23/article-2192379-14AA175E000005DC-388_634x445.jpg
Scene: On June 30, 1995, firefighters were called to Bunch's Greensburg mobile home to find it fully engulfed in flames. She was standing outside and told crews she tried to get to her son, but the flames were too hot
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/08/23/article-2192379-14AA176F000005DC-50_634x451.jpg
Horrible tragedy? The body of three-year-old Tony Bunch was found huddled between the ashes of a burned bed and wall in a bedroom
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/08/23/article-2192379-14AA1797000005DC-741_634x455.jpg
Nightmare: Bunch said she was initially in a state of shock upon being sentenced to 60 years for arson and the murder of her son and likened it to a bad dream that wouldn't end
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/08/23/article-2192379-14A7A7E1000005DC-841_634x634.jpg
Life on the outside: Kristine Bunch, left, with her mother Susan Hubbard, says she looks forward to learning how to use Facebook now she has been released from prison
In the meantime, Bunch said she will live with her mother and her son, in nearby Columbus, Indiana.
‘It was horrible, but I knew if I held on to my faith that justice would prevail. The truth usually has a way of coming out,’ Hubbard, Bunch's mother, said.
Bunch's attorney, Ron Safer, said prosecutors ‘did exactly the right thing’ by asking for a low bond, but he was disappointed they still planned another trial in light of scientific advances that he said suggest there was no real evidence of arson.
Prosecutors have had little to say except that they are seeking a gag order to restrict attorneys' public comments on the case. A hearing on their request is scheduled for August 30, and Bunch was ordered to attend.
Bunch said a prison ministry helped her maintain her faith while she was in prison. ‘I knew it was going to work out in the end,’ she said.
While locked up, Bunch earned her GED and a college degree. She said she plans to go to law school if acquitted.
She wants to work in criminal law, representing inmates who have been wrongfully convicted.
‘There's still a lot of work to be done. There's still a lot of people in my situation,’ Bunch said.
The family was taking Bunch out Wednesday night for her first meal besides prison food in years, at a seafood restaurant in Columbus.
She now faces a struggle to adjust to life outside of prison - and adapt to the vast changes which have taken place since her jailing.
But of all the technological changes since she was last out of prison, Bunch said cellphones, which have evolved from unwieldy boxes with thick antennas to sleek little machines, impress her the most.
‘I'm amazed by the cellphones,’ she said.