David Thorne was convicted of complicity to aggravated murder/ murder for hire, on January 25th, 2000, in the murder of Yvonne Layne.  David and Yvonne had a then two year old son, Brandon.  Despite the fact that Yvonne had five children, by at least four fathers, and that David had an airtight alibi, he was, according to police, the prime suspect in the murder.   They cited newly established paternity and court ordered child support payments as the motive.

David's attempts early on at being co-operative with police earned him their contempt and their unwavering focus.  They were not deterred by the total lack of evidence linking David to this crime.  Or by the fact that David and Yvonne got along well.  Obvious suspects were ignored, and a grossly incompetent job of collecting and preserving evidence at the crime scene was taken in stride.

With no viable suspect in the murder, police produced one of their own in the person of Joseph Wilkes, who eventually confessed to the murder, saying he was hired by David Thorne.  The problem with Wilkes' confession,  is that the crime he confessed to did not occur.  He described in detail how he committed this crime.  He got every detail of the actual murder wrong, except that the weapon used was a knife.

Since his confession, Wilkes has recanted, stating that police bullied him into confessing, offering him a choice between a 'deal' or the electric chair.  Wilkes has stated in an affidavit and at a hearing for David Thorne in May, 2003, that he did not murder Yvonne Layne and that he was not hired by David Thorne.

 

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