Ray Krone Exoneration and Arizona Settlement

Nicknames have a funny way of sticking with someone, especially when they're unwanted. I'm not sure I've met an adult called "Bobby" that I can take seriously –as my nickname through grade school, I'd know. Criminals who become notorious, usually murderers, are often dubbed with a nickname. These are often coined by the media before the offender (or even a suspect) is made known. Forensic Files covered a number of these cases including Timothy Spencer as the Southside Strangler in Southside Strangler (s01e06), Heriberto "Eddie" Seda as the (New York) Zodiac in Sign of the Zodiac (s08e25), and Bobby Joe Long as the Classified Ad Rapist in The Common Thread (s02e01). Infamously known as the Night Stalker, Richard Ramirez had multiple nicknames including the Valley Intruder and the Walk-In Killer. Kim Ancona's killer was given the unfortunate moniker: The Snaggletooth Killer.

Image credit: Episode screen capture from Forensic Files

A close review of the episode revealed somewhat of an inconsistency in the narrative. At the CBS Lounge where the crime was committed, two drinks were observed on the bar. One was said to have Kim's fingerprints on it, and the other didn't have clear enough prints for identification. But toward the end of the episode, it was stated that Kenneth Phillips' fingerprints were "among the unknown fingerprints" found. This seemed contradictory until I learned that additional fingerprints had been picked up from the bathroom at the CBS lounge where Kim's body was found. Then it made sense that there'd been probably too many various fingerprints in the restroom to consider any one set being the killer's. What didn't make sense though was: If not Ray, who did Kim have an after-hours drink with? Kenneth?

Bite mark impressions as forensic evidence

There have been a number of episodes featuring bite marks among the evidence. Some of these include John Prante's murder of Karla Brown in Body of Evidence (s04e08) and the Helga Luest assault case in Tourist Trap (s08e06). In every criminal investigation, detectives are grateful to locate and preserve any type of clue available. The evidentiary value of anything from a hair to a scuff mark might go unrealized unless further into the investigation. Bite mark evidence can have great forensic value in a case, but Dr. Richard Souviron summed up its value best: "Reasonable certainty". There's simply too much variance in a bite mark impression in human skin to make a 100% certain match. But a bite mark that doesn't match has value in excluding a potential suspect.

Image credit: Episode screen capture from Forensic Files

"I'm in too deep," was Dr. Raymond Rawson's argument when Dr. Souviron suggested the prosecution's expert reconsider his rigid (and false) assertions during Ray Krone's second trial. The defense had three board-certified odontologists who testified the bite mark on Kim Ancona was not a match to Ray Krone. But Rawson's hubris and attempt to save face sentenced an innocent man to six additional years in jail. He probably justified his false testimony by a genuine belief in Krone's guilt, but this would've in spite of the additional contrary evidence. Rawson's Wikipedia entry indicates that he "teaches a course in forensic dentistry" at UNLV, but I was grateful to see the university's web site no longer lists the doctor among the staff.

Juries: Experts versus evidence

Ask any trial lawyer and you'll learn, "The outcome of a jury trial is often unpredictable." It's impossible to know what twelve strangers ultimately discuss behind closed doors, and the outcome can surprise judges and lawyers alike. Ray Krone's 1992 trial ended in his conviction for the murder of Kim Ancona, and with it came a death sentence. But his 1996 retrial could have easily had a different outcome for a number of reasons. These items were all true during the first trial, but Krone's new defense team presented this evidence clearly:

• The shoe print found on the clean kitchen floor at the crime scene didn't match shoes owned by Ray Krone and wasn't his shoe size.
• The foreign hairs found on Kim Ancona were mongoloid and did not match Ray Krone's hair sample.
• Ray didn't in fact have plans with Kim on the night of her murder, and he had an alibi supporting his whereabouts.
• Type O blood (both positive and negative) is found in 44% of the American population.

Any of these can supply reasonable doubt. In conjunction, they seem to clearly support Krone's innocence. So how could twelve people overlook (or ignore) this? For one, the right expert can be quite persuasive, perhaps even spellbinding when convincing laypersons of his authoritative knowledge. I imagine this is precisely what Rawson was able to do during the second trial. To overlook the physical and circumstantial evidence, and discount three other experts with contrary opinions, the jury must have found Rawson incredibly convincing.

Image credit: Episode screen capture from Forensic Files

I also feel the prevalence of procedural crime dramas and popularity of true crime content has educated quite a number of people regarding evidence and expert testimony. Recall that it was Duane Deaver's fall from grace that led to Michael Peterson's case being reopened in 2011. A blood spatter expert from North Carolina's State Bureau of Investigation, Deaver "had falsified evidence in 34 different cases." I imagine a jury's conversation about the evidence in Krone's second trial would be quite different today than it was 28 years ago. I've never served on a jury, let alone for a murder trial. I wonder how the 1996 jurors felt after Ray Krone's 2002 exoneration.

Liberty, freedom, and justice (for Ray)

Martin Luther King Jr. uttered one of my favorite quotes, "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." Despite some setbacks and poor choices along the way, circumstances steadily improve. One of these improvements in the justice system was Arizona's 2001 legislation that allowed death row inmates access to post-conviction DNA testing. The saliva found on Kim Ancona's shirt yielded an inconclusive result when initially tested for DNA. But blood found on her pants was another story nine years later. Considered to be Kim's, it hadn't previously been analyzed. But this very blood is what finally pointed to Kim's true killer, Kenneth Phillips.

According to the Innocence Project web site, Ray Krone was "the 100th former death row inmate freed" since the United Stated reinstated the death sentence in 1976. For anyone doing the math, that's nearly four death row inmates who were later found to have been wrongfully convicted – each year. Scary and sobering.

Image credit: Episode screen capture from Forensic Files

Where is Ray Krone now in 2024?

Ray Krone has aligned himself with Witness to Innocence, a non-profit based in Philadelphia dedicated to abolishing the death penalty in the United States. In 2005, Krone appeared on season three of the reality TV series Extreme Makeover. Also in 2005, Ray Krone settled a lawsuit against Maricopa County and the City of Phoenix. Rather than risking a jury trial where the damages paid to Krone could be staggering, settlements were reached for $1.4 million and $3 million respectively. Given the prosecution's gross misconduct, I'd say they got off easy.