'Killer Instinct'

Melinda Elkins had made a graveside promise to her murdered mother to track down the true killer. And, she had another reason to live up to that vow. She hoped she could find the evidence to free her husband, now serving time for that murder.

But with her high school diploma and no investigative training, Melinda didn’t know where to start. So she turned to an easy and inexpensive way to learn about criminal science: a television show.

Melinda Elkins: “Forensic Files.” I watched that every chance I could. Religiously almost.

She also contacted a private investigator, Martin Yant. Yant has worked on 12 cases that led to exonerations of wrongfully convicted defendants.

Martin Yant, private investigator: It had many of the hallmarks of a wrongful conviction.

For one thing, Yant says eyewitness testimony is extremely unreliable. 

And it’s even more unreliable when the identification was made by a traumatized little girl.  

Sara James, Dateline correspondent: So if you’re 6 years old, and you see somebody who may in some way remind you of your uncle, you may say - “I saw my uncle. My uncle did this.”

Yant: Right.

Yant also told Melinda he didn’t believe police had done enough DNA testing—which led him to doubt how thorough their investigation had been.

James: How would you grade it, A to F?

Yant: F.

Even though Yant told Melinda the odds were against her, he agreed to take the case and along the way teach her some tricks of the trade to become a detective herself.

James: How did you transform yourself from wife to mom to CSI investigator?

Melinda Elkins: Determination, I guess. And a really strong drive to find out who did this.

Melinda launched her investigation by scrutinizing her mother’s life, making a list of men Judy Johnson knew who could be potential suspects. 

Melinda Elkins: It was a little notebook that I had. It became filled with names, and just about daily I would go through it.

It included a man with a history of mental problems, a neighbor, and an acquaintance... all men with a history of violence.

She hit the rundown streets of her mother’s neighborhood in Barberton, Ohio and frequented bars where the men she suspected were known to hang out, angling for an opportunity to collect their DNA without them knowing it—from a beer glass, a strand of hair, a cigarette butt. 

James: But you had to flirt with these guys, right?

Melinda Elkins: Yeah. There were times that I got very nervous, and if you can imagine sitting across from someone and having a conversation with them while you’re thinking, “Is this the person that killed my mother and raped my niece and could this be the person?”

A terrifying thought her sons, little Clarence and Brandon, lived with everyday.  Their father had been behind bars for 3 years. Now they feared they could lose their mother, too.

Melinda’s months of dangerous field work paid off as she surreptitiously collected DNA samples from various suspects.  But then her investigation slammed into a roadblock.  It would cost thousands of dollars to test just one sample. And Melinda was broke. She’d lost everything she had helping to pay for Clarence’s defense.

Melinda Elkins: At that point after collecting this evidence, it’s now— "Who’s gonna pay for it? I certainly didn’t have any money."

And there wasn’t only the question of money. They needed information, too.

The cornerstone of the prosecution’s case had been that damning eyewitness testimony by Melinda’s little niece, Brooke, who’d said Clarence was the killer. Just how certain was she?

Private Investigator Yant said Melinda needed to talk to Brooke and her mother. 

Melinda Elkins: He said “There are things that she knows that you may not know and vice versa. You two need to come together. And we need to get her to listen that this wasn’t Clarence.”

But Melinda hadn’t seen her sister or niece in three years. To get the answers she desperately needed, Melinda had to make peace with her family. Unsure what to expect, Melinda made an unannounced visit to her sister’s home. 

Melinda Elkins: I knocked, she opened the door. And it was amazing.  She first turned away from me and immediately turned back around and was crying and just hugged me.

April Sutton: It just seemed like we had never been apart.

James: Did it feel great to be reunited with her?

April Sutton: Yes.

Melinda’s niece, little Brooke, was home that day too.

Melinda Elkins: She hesitated for just a short few seconds. And then she hugged me like she hadn’t seen me in three and a half years.

James: That must have felt great.

Melinda Elkins: It was amazing. I told her I loved her. That’s all I could say. I couldn’t talk.

And when they finally had a chance to talk, Melinda was in for a stunning revelation.  Her niece, Brooke, had a secret to share about what happened the night of the murder.

MORE FROM 'KILLER INSTINCT'

'Killer Instinct' Section Front

Housewife-turned-CSI investigator Sara James: This should be a movie Producer Bob Gilmartin on covering the story Motion from the defense to free Elkins (.pdf) Innocence Project letter of support (.pdf) Post-conviction DNA findings (.pdf) 'Killer Instinct' Section Front   Add 'Killer Instinct' headlines to your news reader: