Byron Case

Byron Christopher Case is an American writer and poet imprisoned in Missouri since 2001 for first-degree murder. Case has maintained his innocence and his trial was the subject of the 2010 book The Skeptical Juror and the Trial of Byron Case. Case's trial was also featured on the 2014 Investigation Discovery television show On the Case with Paula Zahn, and on the 2016 MTV television show Unlocking the Truth.

Byron Case
BornLenexa, Kansas
OccupationWriter
GenresCreative nonfiction (CNF), poetry

Publications

Before his arrest and conviction for murder, Case self-published a number of essays and fiction online.[1] In 2007 while serving his sentence, he started to blog via MySpace,[2] however this was later taken down. In May 2011, several of Case's blog posts were republished in issue 27 of Meridian, the semi-annual journal of the University of Virginia.[3] Case's first book was a hybrid work entitled The Pariah’s Syntax: Notes from an Innocent Man.

Criminal convictions

Case has been convicted of three felonies, Felony Stealing, committed in 1996 (guilty plea in 1998), First Degree Murder, and Armed Criminal Action, both committed in 1997 (conviction in 2002).[4][5]

In 1998, Case pleaded guilty to a charge of Felony Stealing in Clay County, Missouri, receiving a suspended sentence and probation.[6]

On May 2, 2002, Case was convicted of first-degree murder[4] for the shooting and killing of Anastasia WitbolsFeugen, a former classmate 18 years of age, inside Lincoln Cemetery in Jackson County, Missouri, on the night of October 22, 1997.[7] Case maintained his innocence, but was found guilty on both counts. The judgment was based upon eyewitness testimony and his own tacit admission. On June 28, 2002, Case received concurrent sentences of life without parole,[1][5] and is currently an inmate of Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center.[8] Case has exhausted the appeals for his conviction[9] and has written a Petition for Executive Clemency, Non-Capital Case to Missouri Governor Jay Nixon.[10]

Case's trial was the subject of one book in a series titled The Skeptical Juror[11] and was also featured in episodes of two television shows: Investigation Discovery's On the Case with Paula Zahn broadcast an episode titled "Betrayal and Regret" in 2014, and MTV's Unlocking the Truth covered the case in 2017.[12][13][14]

References
  1. Johnson, Allie (May 16, 2002). "Cemetery Plot". Kansas City Pitch. Retrieved December 5, 2017.
  2. Barton, Eric (May 21, 2007). "This Murderer Needs a Friend". Kansas City Pitch. Retrieved December 5, 2017.
  3. "Contributor Search". Meridian. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
  4. Lambe, Joe (May 3, 2002). "Jury finds Byron Case guilty of killing 18-year-old college student in 1997". Kansas City Star. Kansas City, Missouri.
  5. McFarland, Darla (June 29, 2002). "Case gets life in prison". Independence Examiner. Independence, Missouri.
  6. McFarland, Darla (May 2, 2002). "Defense says witness lied". Independence Examiner. Independence, Missouri.
  7. Kozlowski, Kim (October 24, 1997). "Body of student found in cemetery". Kansas City Star. Kansas City, Missouri.
  8. Case, Byron (February 15, 2019). "The Surprisingly Nomadic Lives of Prisoners". The Marshall Project.
  9. Donnelly, Matthew Scott (July 9, 2016). "Unlocking The Truth: Is This Man Behind Bars Because Of A Vengeful Ex?". MTV News.
  10. "Petition for Executive Clemency, Non-Capital Case by the Honorable Governor Jeremiah Nixon" (PDF).
  11. Allen, J. Bennett (2010). The Skeptical Juror and the Trial of Byron Case. Allen & Allen Semiotics, Inc. ISBN 0984271600.
  12. "Betrayal and Regret - On the Case with Paula Zahn | Investigation Discovery". www.investigationdiscovery.com. Retrieved December 5, 2017.
  13. "Unlocking The Truth | Season 1 Episodes (TV Series) | MTV". MTV. Archived from the original on December 2, 2017. Retrieved June 14, 2019.
  14. Young, Sage (September 7, 2016). "'Unlocking The Truth' Finds Byron Case Behind Bars". Bustle. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
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