AN INNOCENT MAN JAILED - David Camm

Summary

Emma Kenny presents David Camm’s case as a miscarriage of justice driven by investigative tunnel vision and serious failures by police and prosecutors.

The investigation

On September 28, 2000, Camm returned home after playing basketball and found his wife, Kim, and their children, seven-year-old Bradley and five-year-old Jill, shot dead in the family garage. Camm said he tried to help Bradley, called emergency services, and sought help from nearby relatives. The prosecution soon focused on him, citing alleged infidelity, blood on his T-shirt, and an interpretation of the crime scene suggesting he had been present during the shootings.

Kenny argues that key parts of the case against Camm were weak or mistaken. The blood on his shirt was later disputed as transfer from contact with his family. The original time-of-death estimate was also revised to around 8 p.m., when Camm had an alibi: multiple witnesses said he was playing basketball. A phone-record discrepancy used to suggest he had been home earlier was attributed to a time-zone mix-up. Kenny says investigators nevertheless adapted their theory to keep him under suspicion.

A crime-scene photographer, Rob Stites, was presented at trial as a qualified forensic expert and offered blood-spatter conclusions supporting the prosecution’s case. In a later trial, Stites reportedly admitted that he lacked the credentials and experience claimed for him and had given false testimony about his qualifications. The video also criticizes the prosecution’s emphasis on Camm’s alleged affairs, arguing that they were used to portray him as a bad person without establishing a motive for murder.

Trials and new evidence

Camm was convicted in 2002 and sentenced to 195 years in prison. His conviction was overturned on appeal because evidence about his infidelity had unfairly prejudiced the jury.

During preparations for a retrial, DNA from a sweatshirt found with Bradley was linked to Charles Boney, a convicted offender whose prison nickname was “Backbone”—the name written inside the sweatshirt. The video also describes evidence connecting Boney to the crime scene, including DNA on victims’ clothing and a handprint on Kim’s vehicle. Boney was convicted of murder and conspiracy in 2005 and sentenced to 225 years.

The prosecution then alleged that Camm and Boney had acted together. Boney gave changing accounts, eventually claiming Camm had arranged the killings. Kenny highlights the lack of independent evidence connecting the two men, the changing versions of the prosecution’s theory across trials, and allegations that investigators suggested details Boney later included in his account.

Camm was convicted again in 2006, after prosecutors also raised an allegation that he had sexually abused Jill. That conviction was overturned. The video says the allegation lacked adequate supporting evidence and had improperly influenced the jury.

In the third trial, the prosecution relied on another proposed motive—Kim’s life-insurance policy—and again presented Boney’s account implicating Camm. The defense countered with forensic evidence tying Boney more directly to the victims and challenged the handling of evidence and witness testimony. Kenny also recounts allegations of prosecutorial pressure on forensic analysts, mishandling of Kim’s phone by a police relative, and failures to investigate or test evidence that could have identified Boney earlier.

Acquittal and aftermath

On October 24, 2013, Camm was acquitted of all charges and released after spending about 13 years in prison. Kenny argues that the case demonstrates how the prosecution repeatedly changed its theory and relied on character attacks and disputed evidence rather than a sound case.

She notes that Camm later pursued legal action over the investigation and prosecution and worked with an innocence-focused organization. The video also acknowledges that some people in his community continued to believe he was guilty after his acquittal.

Presenter

• Emma Kenny — Presenter and narrator; no guest contributors appear in the video.