Man was wrongly jailed for 18 years. His high school dropout sister went to law school and finally proved his innocence
When your loved ones go through pain and suffering for no fault, it awakens a different kind of determination in you. You find a new strength and resilience to get them out of their struggle, even though it seems impossible. Betty Anne Waters, sister of Kenneth Waters, found a similar strength when her brother was wrongly convicted of committing murder, per Innocence Project. It may have seemed like the end of the line, but Betty didn’t give up and pursued her challenge to set her brother free. 18 years later, Kenneth was out of jail, proved not guilty and reunited with his sister, echoing an inspiring story.
Kenneth was living with his then-girlfriend, Brenda Marsh, in Massachusetts when his next-door neighbor, Katherina Reitz Brow, was murdered. All valuables from Brow’s home were taken by the perpetrator and when the investigation began, the authorities found fingerprints and samples believed to be tied to the suspect. They also found a knife, which was the murder weapon and their first doubt was Kenneth since he lived right next door. When Kenneth was questioned, he was able to provide evidence that he wasn’t home at the time of the murder and was present elsewhere. While he was not charged at the time, the case remained open for two years and Kenneth was eventually deemed suspect again.
Marsh’s new boyfriend reportedly offered a tip to the authorities regarding the murder. He revealed that Kenneth had confessed to Marsh of having killed a woman. When Marsh was confronted, she initially refused but eventually noted that Kenneth was at home at the time of the murder and also had a deep scratch on his face. With another statement from another ex of Kenneth’s, he was charged with murder and put into jail. He was sentenced to life imprisonment despite the hair samples found at the crime scene being unmatched. For the next few years, he appealed for a trial but was refused.
Betty took it upon herself to redeem her brother and spent the next few years attending college and law school. She began working on the case in collaboration with the Innocence Project and requested private DNA testing of the sample acquired at the time of the murder. When the testing was done, it proved that it didn’t match that of Kenneth’s. After 18 years of being in jail, the authorities decided to look over the case again. When the reinvestigation took place, it was discovered that the police reports were incomplete.
Getting into it all over again, the police submitted the complete reports with the fingerprint results, further adding evidence of Kenneth’s innocence. Finally, after nearly two decades, the charges were dropped and Waters was free. Unfortunately, 6 months after being released, Kenneth passed away due to a fatal accident. Nevertheless, his sister couldn’t be more glad that he died free, innocent and respectful. “Kenny had the best six months of his life. After so many years behind bars, the world was new to him,” she remarked. Betty redefined love by changing the course of her own life and working hard to transform her brother’s life. Kenneth's story was also reshared on Reddit by u/Kaos2018, where it garnered over 14k upvotes.