Tuesday, February 14, 2012

McNeil claims woman charged in different slaying killed his daughter

A man convicted in 1999 of murdering his 3-year-old daughter says the person responsible for the murder is now behind bars facing murder charges in an unrelated case, but prosecutors say they reviewed and rejected the suspect he proposes.

Barton McNeil, who is serving life in prison in Menard Correctional Center, was convicted of smothering Christina McNeil on June 16, 1998.

He maintains his innocence and says the woman responsible is Misook Wang, who was arrested Sept. 14 on three counts of murder and one count of concealment of the homicidal death of her mother-in-law, Wenlan “Linda” Tyda. Her case has not yet gone to trial.

The Downstate Innocence Project is reviewing the case following a request from McNeil, but has made no determination in the case. The institute at the University of Illinois at Springfield investigates and litigates cases for inmates that appear to have been falsely accused of their crimes.

The case was featured in an February 14, 2012, article in the Bloomington Pantagraph.

Read the story online