Macon County Murder Conviction Overturned and Suspect Released 18 Years After Arrest for Death of Former Shumway Man

A man who was arrested 18 years ago in Macon County for the murder of a former Shumway man has been freed after DNA evidence indicated he was not the killer.

Charles Palmer of Decatur was arrested in 1998 for the murder of William Helmbacher in his Decatur apartment.

The Illinois Innocence Project had been advocating for Palmer's release since 2011 when DNA evidence tested from samples taken at the crime scene were not a match for Palmer. Palmer's cousin, whose testimony at trial was that Palmer told him he had killed Helmbacher, said he would not again testify against Palmer. That led the Macon County State's Attorney to decline to again prosecute Palmer. 

The DNA evidence also indicated that the cousin was not the killer.

Macon County State's Attorney Jay Scott released a statement, saying "The totality of the evidence in this case shows that another person was involved in the physical attack upon William Helmbacher, which led to his death. For that reason, justice demands that the case against Charles B. Palmer be dismissed."

St. Anthony High School graduate Faith Hook, a student at the University of Illinois at Springfield, worked as a volunteer on the case on behalf of the Illinois Innocence Project.