DEKALB, Ill. (AP) — A Washington state man wrongly convicted in the 1957 kidnapping and killing of a 7-year-old girl has filed a federal lawsuit in Illinois.
The complaint accuses authorities in both states of fabricating evidence and conspiring to frame Jack McCullough in the death of Maria Ridulph of Illinois.
The lawsuit comes days after an Illinois judge granted the 77-year-old a certificate of innocence. McCullough, who lived in Illinois during the disappearance, was convicted in 2012 and sentenced to life in prison.
However, last year a prosecutor concluded that evidence backed McCullough’s alibi that he’d been 40 miles away when Maria disappeared. A judge agreed, ordering McCullough’s release.
The (DeKalb) Daily Chronicle reports the lawsuit names 15 defendants, including Illinois State Police and Seattle police.
Authorities say they can’t comment on litigation.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified compensatory damages.