GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A status conference hearing is planned Monday for a convicted murderer whose been granted a new trial.
Robin Root is currently serving a life sentence for murdering her landlord, Janna Kelly.
Kelly went missing Dec. 4, 2007. Her burned body was discovered three months later in Ottawa County.
It wasn’t until 2014 cold case investigators realized Grand Rapids police never tested some of the DNA evidence discovered in Kelly’s car during the initial investigation. That led them to Root and a 2015 video confession.
During the interview with investigators, Root admitted to arguing with Kelly over back rent, shoving her, accidentally knocking her unconscious and putting her body in her car. She also admitted to putting duct tape over Kelly’s mouth and leaving her overnight before transporting her body to a blueberry field and burning Kelly’s remains.
The problem was investigators read Root her Miranda rights after the confession. In September, the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled that video should not have been allowed during the first trial, thus vacating the first-degree murder conviction.
“It is extremely rare for a conviction to get overturned — fewer than 2 percent of the time — especially a first degree murder like this,” Western Michigan Cooley Law School professor Curt Benson told 24 Hour News 8. “Her comments are so powerful to a jury, losing that powerful evidence is really quite a handicap. It’s a disability for the prosecuting attorney.”
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