Dean Cage Freed from Prison After Serving 12 Years for a Crime He Didn't Commit

May 30, 2008

DNA testing has exonerated a man who has served 12 years of a 40-year prison sentence. According to a spokesperson for the New York-based Innocence Project, which investigates wrongful convictions, the state attorney's office in Cook County, Illinois, has vacated the conviction of 41-year-old Dean Cage and has dismissed all charges against him stemming from the alleged rape of a teenage girl in 1994.

"I have my life back," Dean said during an interview with the Chicago Tribune. "It means the world to me. I never had a doubt. I am happy and blessed."

Dean's arrest and subsequent conviction came after the victim of an alleged rape identified him as her attacker.

According to court records, the victim, a 15-year-old girl, was walking to a school bus stop on the morning of November 14, 1994, when a man wearing a black leather jacket and hat grabbed her and pulled her into an alleyway. It was there, she later testified, that the man pushed her up against a wall and sexually assaulted her. Afterwards, the man fled on foot, and the girl notified police.

Using the girl's description of the attacker, police investigators created a computer-generated sketch of the suspect and circulated it throughout the neighborhood where the crime had occurred. Approximately one week later, police fielded a call from a tipster who told them that a man matching the description of the suspect was employed at a local meat-packing plant.

Armed with the tipster's information, police took the victim to Dean's place of work, and...

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Photo Credit: Illinois Department of Corrections

Police Identify Wealthy Family of Five Dead in California

May 28, 2008

The Orange County Sheriff's Department has positively identified the five family members who were found dead in an upscale California neighborhood last Sunday.

According to Lt. Erin Giudice, spokeswoman for the Orange County Sheriff's Department, the victims have been identified as Manas Ucar, 58, and his wife Margrit, 48; 21-year-old twin daughters, Margo and Grace; and the family's maternal grandmother, 72-year-old Fransuhi Kesisoglu.

ABC News is reporting that Manas Ucar was a former Syracuse University professor who, along with his wife, had emigrated from Turkey several years ago. According to The Southern Ledger, the couple's daughters had recently completed bachelor degrees in biology.

Giudice confirmed reports that Manas and Margrit had suffered gunshot wounds; however could not comment on how the remaining family members died pending the release of additional autopsy results.

Yesterday, Guidice said that Manas and Margrit were found in a downstairs closet, while Margo, Grace and Fransuhi were discovered in the attached bedroom. Guidice also said that two handguns were found at the scene, one of which was registered to the Margrit Ucar.

More details are expected in the coming days.

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Manas Ucar's Photo Curtsey of Orange County Sheriff's Department

Wealthy Family Found Dead in California; Police Investigate Possible Murder-Suicide

May 27, 2008

The Orange County Sheriff's Department is investigating the shooting deaths of five family members who were found dead in an upscale California neighborhood this past weekend.

According to Sheriff's Lt. Erin Guidice, a relative of the family was conducting a wellness check Sunday afternoon when they discovered the bodies inside their Sea Pointe Estates home, located approximately 65 miles southeast of Los Angeles.  Sheriff's deputies arrived on the scene at about 4 p.m., just 10 minutes after receiving the initial 9-1-1 call.

The names of the dead were not immediately released and investigators have not officially commented on a cause of death.  However, the Orange County Register has reported that the victims – two sisters in their early 20s, an elderly woman, and a man and woman in their 40s or 50s – were all shot to death.  The bodies of the middle-aged couple were found in a downstairs closet, while the three other victims were discovered in the attached bedroom.

Yesterday, Guidice told the Associated Press that two handguns were found...

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