American murder suspect who was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment until, after 18 years, his conviction was reversed and he was freed, from the singular devotion and commitment of his sister.
The case began in 1980 when Katharina Brow, 48, was found stabbed to death in her trailer home in Ayer. The police believed it to be a case of a robbery gone wrong. They questioned Kenneth Waters because of his rowdy reputation in Ayer. He was a local chef, living with his grandfather, girlfriend and infant daughter and had a prior arrest on the charge of assaulting a police officer. He was acquainted with Brow because her kids had ridden the same bus to school along with him. When the cops got a call from a man who was dating Ken’s former girlfriend, claiming that Ken had admitted to the murder. On this hearsay evidence, Ken was arrested and charged.
During the trial, Betty Anne Waters and her seven other siblings all believed that their brother would be found innocent, knowing that he had worked that night. The trial went badly. The public defender was inept and the time cards from Ken’s job were never introduced. Ken was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced on 5/12/1983 to life in prison. His mom spent her meager savings on appeals with little result. The family’s money was gone along with their trust in the legal system.
Divorced with two small kids, Ken’s sister Betty worked weekends as a waitress to pay her way to a law degree – 11 years later. She then began representing her brother with the help of attorney Barry Scheck and the Innocence Project. She obtained a sample of blood believed to be from the perpetrator of the crime and had it DNA tested. Her hard work proved that Kenneth was not the killer, and on 3/15/2001, he was released from prison on his own recognizance to a family who had never given up hope for his freedom.
Ironically, six months later Ken fell headfirst from a 15-ft fence and died of his injuries on 9/19/2001. He was found unconscious and bleeding about 6:00 PM and taken to the hospital E.R. Witnesses said that the obese, bald and bearded Kenneth was probably taking a shortcut to a nearby convenience store.