Overview
- State Supreme Court Justice Ruth Pickholz vacated the convictions and dismissed charges against Brian Boles and Charles Collins following joint motions from the Manhattan DA’s office, Innocence Project and Ropes & Gray.
- Advanced DNA testing revealed genetic material under victim James Reid’s fingernails did not match either Boles or Collins, using techniques unavailable in the 1990s.
- Prosecutors disclosed withheld witness statements showing Reid alive hours after the teens claimed his death and a lab report that disproved a key footprint match.
- Boles and Collins, who were 17 at the time, spent a combined 52 years in prison after giving false confessions during heavy-handed interrogations.
- Authorities say Reid’s killer remains at large and have urged anyone with information to come forward to resolve the unsolved homicide.