New York Local News

RIVERHEAD, N.Y. (CBS) ― A Suffolk County judge Thursday granted a $1 million personal recognizance bond for Martin Tankleff, the Long Island man convicted of murdering his parents in 1988. The highly anticipated development allowed Tankleff, now 36, to finally taste freedom after serving 17 years in prison.

Before Tankleff spoke during a Thursday morning news conference, he hugged and kissed a tearful group of incredibly excited and relieved family members who have stood by him during his long journey.

"My arrest and conviction was a nightmare, and this is a dream come true," an elated Tankleff said. "I always had faith this day would come and I look forward to welcoming in the new year with my family."

Questions immediately surfaced as to whether Tankleff's legal counsel would pursue a new trial to clear his name for good.

"As long as these charges hang over him, Marty's not done. We're gonna work for the day that he's completely vindicated," one of his attorneys said.

In the meantime, family members were thrilled to finally bring Tankleff home.

"I was as upset when Marty was convicted as I was when my sister was murdered. Though it's such a relief now, we can mourn my sister peroperly," said Tankleff's aunt, Mary Anne McLure.

CBS 2 HD first learned of a bail agreement late Wednesday night, after an appeals court overturned his 1990 conviction on Friday.

Arlene and Seymour Tankleff were found bludgeoned and stabbed to death in their lavish, waterfront Belle Terre house on Sept. 7, 1988. Martin was just 17 at the time, and he would eventually confess to the crime, but only after a detective falsely told him his father awakened from a coma and implicated him. But he quickly recanted his words and wouldn't sign a written confession police prepared.

"It's like having an 18-wheeler driving on your chest, and you believe the only way to get that weight to get off your chest is to tell the police whatever they want to hear," Tankleff told '48 Hours' reporter Erin Moriarty in a past interview.

Still, a jury found Tankleff guilty on the strength of the initial confession.

Tankleff's defense team were able to have his conviction overturned after they built a compelling new case presenting evidence against three other men who his attorneys believe were behind the murders, including Seymour Tankleff's former business partner.

Tankleff's relatives were ecstatic.

"You know I'm Jewish and Hanukkah's over, but I think I'm celebrating Christmas this year and this is the best Christmas present, Hanukkah present, seasons present," cousin Howard Asne said.

Now the big unresolved question, will there be another murder trial?

Many experts don't believe so.

"If they retry Martin Tankleff they're going to be confronted by this overwhelming evidence of his innocence, and if they try to prosecute the individuals that we believe committed the crime there is going to be Marty Tankleff's statement and his conviction," Bruce Barket said. "I don't envy their legal position right now."

Tankleff was about to start the first day of his senior year in high school when he found his parents bodies.

He first told police that when he awoke for school he discovered his father, Seymour, gravely wounded in the study of the family home, and saw the body of his mother, Arlene, on her bedroom floor. He suggested that a partner in his father's bagel business could be the killer, noting the partner owed Seymour Tankleff hundreds of thousands of dollars, and that he had been the last one at the home for a poker game the night before.

The business partner, Jerald Steuerman, was never charged and has denied any involvement in the crimes.

After questioning Tankleff at the home and at police headquarters, detectives falsely told him that his father had awoken from a coma and named him as the killer. At that point, Tankleff wondered aloud if he might have "blacked out" and committed the crimes.

Police then read him his rights to an attorney under the Miranda ruling, but Tankleff waived his rights and confessed to attacking his parents. Seymour Tankleff died a few weeks later. The motive for the killings, he told police at the time, was that he was angry over a variety of slights, including being made to drive a "crummy old Lincoln."

Relatives and supporters have tried over the years to win Tankleff the right to a new trial.

Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota did not immediately say whether he would seek to prosecute Tankleff again.

CBS 2 HD's Lou Young, Dave Carlin and Liz Hur contributed to this report.

(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)