Jun 30, 2008 7:39 pm US/Eastern
Prosecutors Won't Retry Tankleff For Murders
All That Remains Is For Judge To Throw Out The Charges
Reporting
Lou Young
RIVERHEAD, N.Y. (CBS) ―
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Martin Tankleff, whose conviction for murdering his parents in 1990 was thrown out last month, has enrolled at Hofstra University.
CBS
First he was accused in the brutal murder of his parents, now a Long Island man has newfound freedom.
State prosecutors say they are closing the case against Martin Tankleff, after he spent nearly 20 years behind bars.
CBS 2 HD has learned why the charges were ultimately dropped.
The case ended in a Riverhead courtroom on Monday afternoon with handshakes, hugs and a broad smile on the face of the man who spent more than half his life in prison for the murder of his own parents. Tankleff, 36, received the news that he's waited for from the State Attorney General's office. His conviction was overturned in December, and on Monday he learned that it is unlikely he will face trial again.
"It's 20 years overdue. It's a day that's finally here," Tankleff said. "Anybody who knows the truth of this case knows that I'm innocent. The case is over with essentially."
Twenty years ago when Seymour and Arlene Tankleff were killed in the upscale family home in Belle Terre on Long Island's North Shore, Martin Tankleff was in the house, but always claimed he had nothing to do with the crime. The attorneys, family and friends who helped reverse the decision were elated on Monday.
"The fact that Marty is innocent is not news to us," said Ron Falbee, Tankleff's cousin.
The court didn't declare innocence, though. The Attorney General's investigator simply said the case has gone cold, the evidence insufficient to support a conviction, and since an appeals court ruled the original prosecution was fatally flawed that should end the case against Tankleff. His lawyers, though, call it exoneration.
"It is very clear that there was some evidence against Marty," defense attorney Barry Pollack said. "We've known that for 20 years. They brow-beat a confession out of him. Of course there's some evidence."
Investigator Jay Salpeter says Martin Tankleff was a dupe for the real killers who murdered his parents and leaving the then-teenaged son to take the rap.
"A message for Seymour and Arlene: You can rest now. Your son is home and he's home to stay," Salpeter said.
The judge in the case is expected to formally toss out all charges by the end of the month. As for who really killed Seymour and Arlene Tankleff, their son has always pointed his finger at his father's business partner.
The Suffolk County district attorney still has to decide if it will re-open the case.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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