Presumed guilty: Frank O'Connell's fight for justice

Produced by Judy Rybak

"All I can say in my professional capacity is that it appears to us that -- justice was -- correctly dealt back in 1984," said Lt. Dave Dolson.

"A decision was made by the judge that Frank O'Connell was guilty of the murder of Jay French," said Detective Steve Lankford.

"...to date we haven't found anything that ... exonerates him," added Lt. Dave Dolson.

"I think what we have is a failure at many levels. And [my father] was a casualty in this situation," Nick O'Connell said. "I just -- I've always had that the inner belief that the truth will come out. You know, you can only suppress somethin' like that for so long."

January 5, 1984, was just another sunny day in Pasadena, California.

But for 27-year-old Jay French, it was the last day of his life.

Daniel Druecker and Jay French were neighbors and on that fateful afternoon in 1984. They were both in the parking garage of their apartment complex; Druecker was washing his car and Jay French was loading old mattresses onto a truck.

"Garage was as empty as it is right now except for the pickup trick, you know, that was parked there," Druecker said, pointing to the garage.

Just after 1 p.m., a car sped through the property's open gate and pulled up right behind Jay. Then someone got out and shot him in the back.

"You must've been scared out of your mind," Roberts commented to Druecker.

"I was," he said. "I know I froze because I don't remember ducking down behind my car."

Minutes later, with police and an ambulance on the way, Jay French's wife held him in her arms as he lay dying. She says his final words are proof that Jay knew his killer.

"What did he say to you before he was taken away by E.M.T.?" Roberts asked Gina French.

"This had to do with Jeanne. It looks like somebody she hangs around

with," she replied.

Jeanne was Jay's first wife and the mother of his son, Jay Jr. The couple had been battling over custody of the boy for six years. Jeanne lost custody when she ran off with out of the state with their son for more than a year without permission.

"Jay had full custody. She had visitation rights. She was the one that kept bringing us back into court to try to get more custody back," said French.

But just weeks before another custody hearing, Jay was shot and killed execution style.

"When your husband was murdered, what was your first thought? Who was responsible?" Troy asked Gina French.

"Jeanne," she replied. "Yeah. ... I knew it was Jeanne's doing."

The case went to Los Angeles County Sheriff's homicide detectives, who interviewed Jeanne the day after the murder. She told them her side of the custody battle. Then, out of the blue, she brought up the name Frank O'Connell. That was the first time detectives had heard of him.

Los Angeles County Sheriff's Detective Steven Lankford says that Jeanne told the detectives on the case back in 1984 that O'Connell had been staying with her and her third husband ... and later confessed there was more to their relationship.

"Frank had a short-term relationship with Jeanne," Det. Lankford told Roberts.

"Do you know how long -- they saw each other?"

"I believe it was a few months -- according to the reports -- back in 1984," Lankford replied.

Detectives believed that Frank O'Connell was so in love with Jeanne, he was willing to commit murder so she could have custody of her son.

"It was more than just friends. You know, I think nowadays, you call that kind of 'friends with benefits.' It wasn't a love relationship," Frank explained. "...they try to put this love triangle, and love -- theory into it. And it -- it was nothing like that."

But when detectives looked at Frank they saw a likely suspect. In 1984, he couldn't hold down a job and was sleeping on a friend's couch. But just eight years earlier, life was very different for Frank.

He had been a local hero -- a high school football superstar and the pride of middle class Glendora, Calif. Frank's mother, Rosemarie O'Connell was so proud that she kept every memento.

"He was very good. He was their top football player," she said as she and Roberts looked through a scrapbook. "He was a wide receiver, number 80."

"Everybody looked up to him. His coaches, his teachers--friends," she continued. " He was that happy-go-lucky kid."

"...the town put me up on a pedestal. You know? They-- they treated me like a hero everywhere I went," said Frank.

As a senior, Frank O'Connell had his pick of six universities with strong football programs, all offering generous scholarships. He chose a full ride to San Jose State.

"I thought I was gonna become a professional football player," he explained.

But in his freshman year, Frank got his girlfriend, Leslie, pregnant and dropped out of college.

"I just ... wasn't ready for school," he explained. "I was kinda homesick. And -- just kinda threw it away."

"Guys just don't think what the future holds for you and what you can do with a college education," Rosemarie told Roberts.

In October 1980, Frank's son, Nicholas, was born. But Frank says he still wasn't ready to settle down and get married.

"I was young, immature, didn't -- didn't plan for the future," he explained.

That's when Frank met Jeanne. She was 26 and on her third marriage.

"I thought she was a beautiful girl," Frank said. "I knew she was married. She talked about her husband. ... we exchanged numbers and stayed in contact for the next couple weeks."

But it was more than that. Frank says he lost his apartment and moved in with Jeanne. "She offered me a place to stay, and I took her up on it."

According to Frank, Jeanne threw him out after just six weeks... and the affair was over. Five months later, Jay French was murdered.

Ultimately, it wasn't his affair with Jeanne sealed Frank's fate -- it was Dan Druecker, who told police that he saw the man who killed Jay French.

"I heard what I thought was firecrackers or a backfire of a car ... and it caught my attention..." Druecker recalled.

After he was shot in the back, Jay French managed to run for safety. But the shooter followed and took a second shot right in Dan Druecker's line of sight.

"How far away was the shooter from you?" Roberts asked Druecker.

"I remember right-- if you see where that post is, that's where I was crouching, little further over there. He was somewhere here, like this," he explained, pointing fingers as if he were holding a gun.

Days later, detectives showed Druecker six mug shots. The police report notes that Druecker positively identified Frank O'Connell as the man who shot and killed Jay French.

"... he identified him just not one time. He identified him on multiple occasions," said Lankford.

But that's not all. Two other witnesses reported seeing the getaway car. They described a yellow Pinto station wagon. They said the driver, a woman, was a blonde and the passenger, a man. One of the witnesses said a photo of Frank O'Connell looked like the shooter.

"That set of facts led the detectives back in 1984 to believe that Frank O'Connell was, in fact, the suspect," said Lt. Dave Dolson.

Two weeks after the shooting, police arrested Frank O'Connell for the murder of Jay French.

"Frank O'Connell came into Jeanne's life. Jeanne had a problem. And the

problem needed to be taken care of," said Lankford.

"I did not kill Jay French!" Frank O'Connell told Roberts emphatically.

"I was 30 miles away in Lavern when this murder happened in south Pasadena. It is impossible for me to have committed this crime!"

In January 1984, a young Frank O'Connell was sitting in a jail-cell in Los Angeles, asking himself one question: "'Am I being set up? What's going on here?'" he wondered.

Charged with first-degree murder, Frank was facing a life sentence. His family stood by him, even risking their home by offering it up as collateral to make his bail.

"They rallied behind me at the time," Frank said. "So-- I believe they believed me."

"Did you ever ask Frank directly, 'Did you kill Jay French?'" Troy Roberts asked Rosemarie O'Connell.

"Yes. And he always said, 'No, I did not,'" she replied.

"I asked it and he answered it," son Nick O'Connell said. "And I believed him."

A year later, Frank and his family were sitting in a Pasadena courtroom watching the lawyers assemble a jury. Frank says he was nervous but confident.

"There's not a man in the world more innocent than me...it's impossible," he said. "I thought for sure, even up until the time, the end of the -- the trial, I knew I was going home."

But that afternoon, Frank O'Connell shocked the courtroom and let the jury be released. He decided to go with what's called a "bench trial." Judge Sally Disco -- not a jury -- would now decide Frank's guilt or innocence. The idea came from his public defender.

"He told me that she would know more about eyewitness testimony than a jury," Frank explained.

"Why would that public defender press for that? I always assumed by default you would always take a jury. I mean ... to convince ... a collective group of people, you know, beyond reasonable doubt, would be much more difficult than -- convincing one person," said Nick.

The prosecution immediately began laying out its case. First, Jay French's widow repeated what she said were Jay's final words:

"My husband's dying words were, 'It has to do with Jeanne. It looks like somebody she hangs around with,'" said Gina French.

The next witness called to testify was Dan Druecker.

"The prosecutor asked you, 'Is there any doubt in your mind that that was the person who you saw fire?'" Roberts commented to Druecker.

"And I said, 'No.' I believed they had done their jobs. That they had caught the right guy," he replied.

The two witnesses who saw the yellow Pinto flee the scene of the crime took the stand. One of them, a deliveryman, testified that Frank O'Connell looked like the shooter, but said he couldn't be positive.

Then a neighbor of Jeanne's testified that while Frank was living with Jeanne, he drove a yellow Pinto.

"It can't be coincidental that two people that saw the person ... picked the person that Jeanne was dating," said Gina French.

"I've never been in a yellow Pinto in my life. Let alone a station wagon," said O'Connell.

Asked if Frank ever owned a Pinto, Rosemary O'Connell told Roberts, "Never in his life."

"Did he have access to a Pinto?"

"Never had it. We never saw a Pinto," she said.

Three of Frank O'Connell's friends testified that they had been home with him, 30 miles away, at the time of the murder.

"I'm sitting with three alibis, you know, that I know testified and -- and told the truth. And so, you know, you're thinking the whole time, 'Well, I-- I'm gonna win this,'" he said.

But in cross examination, the prosecutor raised doubt that they were with Frank for all of that time.

"I mean, here was three people that never been arrested, you know, good people. Telling the truth, and they weren't believed," Frank said. "You know, that was hard. It was hard on me, it was hard on them."

Contrary to what Jay French's widow had said on the stand, the defense revealed that the first officer on the scene said Jay French did not know his killer or why he had been shot.

"You get one person on a stand that says, 'Jay said that it looked like somebody that hung around with Jeannie,'" Frank said. "But nobody else heard that."

Frank's lawyer also pointed out that Dan Druecker was not wearing his glasses the day of the murder and only saw the shooter in profile, for a couple of seconds.

"How do you see those profile of someone for two seconds amidst gun fire in -- in a parking garage where you know that sound is echoing and scaring you?" Nick asked. "I would think the natural reaction would be to -- to hide. To cover. ...But you're definitely not gonna be in a position -- at 40 feet away-- to make a positive identification of someone regardless."

At the end, not a single piece of physical evidence had been presented.

"There was no firearm that was recovered or found," Det. Lankford told

Roberts.

"Did you think this was a strong case against Frank O'Connell?" Roberts asked Lt. Dolson.

"Oh, I don't think it's the strongest case. But, you know, ultimately that's not for us to decide," he replied.

It took less than an hour for Judge Disco to find Frank O'Connell guilty of murder. She called the evidence overwhelming, and said she gave more weight to "the victim's dying statement, than either attorney argued."

"It was like I was in another world," Frank recalled. "I knew I had no involvement and to have people get on a stand and -- and look at you and point at you and say, 'You're a murderer' was the hardest thing."

The judge also stated that Frank clearly had a motive, "a continuing relationship with Jeanne." She said: "Jeanne was in the middle of an obviously bitter custody battle. There were court appearances the next month. Defendant had a motive. Jeanne had a motive."

"I thought they were gonna call her and put her on the stand. My attorney never did. District attorney never did," Frank said. "They didn't do anything."

Jeanne never even showed up in court. After Jay French's death, she got full custody of Jay Jr., and moved to Oregon. On April 16, 1985, Frank O'Connell was sentenced to 25 years to life.

"I was in shock, saying, 'I didn't just hear that," he said. "'I didn't do it. I didn't do it.'"

His son, Nick, was 5 years old at the time, but remembers.

"I'd sit there as a kid and have wishes for cannons and tanks and helicopters to go get him," Nick said. "I just knew something had to be done to get him out. And I didn't know what to do."

The year was 1985, and 27-year-old Frank O'Connell was sitting in prison facing a life sentence for first-degree murder. He was still passionately and consistently declaring his innocence, but even his own mother didn't believe him anymore.

"I didn't know where to turn to when this was done... I had believed in the system," Rosemarie O'Connell said of her son's case. "You know, whatever courts say, whatever police say has to be the truth."

"This is your only son ... How could you even question?" Roberts asked.

"Because the way they presented stuff in the courtroom, showing eyewitnesses coming forwards saying, 'Yeah, that's him.' ... I thought, 'Is it possible? Could he have done that?'" she explained.

"Later ... I point blank asked, 'Do you think I did this?' And -- my mom said, 'Yeah.' And that just crushed me," Frank said, overcome with emotion. "So I decided that -- I couldn't be around 'em. I couldn't correspond with them."

But Frank O'Connell was not alone. He had his son, Nick.

"He always asked a couple questions when he was younger, 10, 11 years old. And -- and we always told him, you know, 'Someday, you'll read everything,'" said Frank..

"I just recall being around 14 and 15 years old and going, 'I really gotta find out,' Nick explained. "For my own security, I need to know whether my father did this or not. ... That's when I did the research. That's when I started looking into it ... everything he had told me lined up. ...The strongest thing that they had was the eyewitness identification. ...And then you have one person who also loosely connected him to the yellow Pinto."

"That's their case," commented Roberts.

"There's their case," said Nick.

"He read everything. And he never questioned me," Frank said if his son. "He knew I didn't do it."

"You know, you watch crime shows. And you see how they mount a case against someone. And it's full of evidence. Physical evidence," Nick said. "And in this situation, there just was no evidence."

Frank filed four separate appeals between 1986 and 1995, and all were denied. Then, on the advice of friends, he reached out to Centurion Ministries, a non-profit organization dedicated to overturning wrongful convictions.

Learn more about Centurion Ministries

"But you have to be completely innocent of the crime," Nick explained.

"But if they do take on your case, they'll do a full, thorough investigation. They'll go through the entire process of putting together a legal team for you. And they'll fight that uphill battle that is overturning an incorrect conviction."

Kate Germond is the director of Centurion Ministries and one of their lead investigators.

"About how many letters a year do you receive?" Roberts asked.

"Anywhere between 1,200 and 1600 new requests for help," Germond replied to Roberts' surprise. "Yeah, we've been inundated."

"So what was it about Frank's letter that caught your eye?"

"As I worked through it, it became very evident to me that this was an innocent man. It didn't make sense to me that Frank would murder a man he had no relationship with," she said.

At the time, Centurion didn't have the manpower or resources to take on his case. However, Germond did stay in touch.

"From 1988 to 1999, she asked me a million questions," Frank said. "She told me, 'If you ever lie, one lie, we're gonna drop you like a bad habit.'"

Finally, 13 years into Frank's sentence, Centurion Ministries sent him a letter formally accepting his case.

"Once I knew that Centurion Ministries picked it up it was like, rock solid, absolute, you know, unwavering confidence. And from then it was just ... what needs to be done ... to rectify this situation," said Nick.

Germond took on Frank's case herself, and began the investigation with the strongest part of the state's case: their star eyewitness, Dan Druecker.

"He couldn't possibly have seen the face of his assailant other than to know he was a tall man holding a gun and he saw him in profile," she said.

So Germond paid Druecker a visit -- unannounced.

"Centurion's mark is that we don't call ahead," she explained. "We just show up on your doorstep and -"

"Worm your way in?" Roberts asked.

"Yeah, yeah," she replied. "And it was a very -- tense conversation."

"She had said, 'We're here to talk to you. You used to live in Pasadena on State Street,'" said Druecker.

"I could tell he remembered," said Germond.

"And those two words just opened the floodgates ... everything that happened in '84," said Druecker.

"I knew he knew, but there was a lot of, you know, clearly turmoil..." noted Germond.

"And I stood steadfast that what I said was correct. I just -- I didn't wanna go through it again," said Druecker.

Hoping he would come around, Germond sent Druecker copies of the same files that Nick read when he was 15. It took Druecker another two years to finally read the files.

"It was very hard. Very, very hard," Druecker said. "And that's when I finally called Kate and told her that ... I needed to talk with her 'cause I think I made a mistake."

"When he started describing the interrogation by the detectives, and I call it an interrogation 'cause he was trying to say to them, 'I -- I barely saw the guy. You know, I was looking at the gun.' They are seasoned detectives. They know what that means," Germond said. "They knew he didn't see the guy, but they were gonna coerce a description out of him."

"They weren't gonna leave me alone, those detectives, until I did," Druecker explained. "And I felt, from what the detective was telling me, they had caught this guy, whoever he was. They had done their job. And they -- they just needed a verification."

Dan Druecker officially recanted his testimony with a declaration in September 2008. But it took another two years for Frank O'Connell's lawyers to secure a hearing to determine whether the case against him should be reopened. In January 2011, Druecker testified that 26 years ago he felt pressured to lie on this witness stand.

"I knew in my heart that -- I don't think I really saw that man well enough to identify him," he said.

Dan Druecker's reversal convinced the judge to reopen the case against Frank O'Connell and Centurion was granted access to the entire file left behind by the detectives in 1985. That's where they found evidence that Frank may have been set up -- by the detectives.

"That's what broke the case wide open," Frank told Roberts.

"This wasn't an accident. This wasn't an oops-a-daisy scenario. This was malicious intent by some evil people," said Nick.

After serving 25 years in prison for a murder he maintains he did not commit, Frank O'Connell felt closer than ever to keeping a promise he made to his son, Nicholas.

"I promised him when he was 4 years old I'd come home someday. I promised him wherever he was at when I get out, I will be there..." he said.

But first, Frank's lawyers and Centurion Ministries would have to overturn his conviction -- a nearly impossible mission in most cases.

But handwritten notes were about to change everything.

"Those notes were never turned over to us. And they were never transcribed into the police reports," said Frank.

The notes were discovered in the file belonging to the L.A. County Sheriff's detectives who arrested O'Connell back in 1984. And they revealed that, like Dan Druecker, there was another witness who was not certain about their identification of Frank.

"There was a witness ... who was the only person to connect Frank to a yellow Pinto wagon. And his trial testimony and the typewritten police report both unequivocally report that this neighbor said ... there was a yellow Pinto wagon parked across the street from Jeanne Lyon's house when Frank was living there and Frank was the one who drove this yellow Pinto wagon," Germond explained.

But the handwritten notes reveal that the witness was not 100-percent certain when he first identified Frank O'Connell. The note indicates that he chose Frank's photo and the photo of somebody else. By withholding the fact that an eyewitness was uncertain, detectives violated a 1963 Supreme Court ruling: authorities must reveal any evidence that could change the outcome of a trial.

"You see it in almost every single wrongful conviction there is. The police decide that this person is their suspect and they do everything to make whatever evidence they gather fit this suspect," said Germond.

"It was intentional. There's no doubt about it," Frank said. "...it couldn't have been a mistake."

"Why didn't they pursue other suspects?" Nick said. "Somehow they got latched onto my father and they turned a blind eye to everybody else."

But would Judge Suzette Clover agree? For weeks, Frank O'Connell and his supporters nervously held their breath; but not Nick.

"I've been supremely confident since I was 15 and I first read the transcripts in this case. I've always had that the inner belief that the truth will come out," he said.

Jay French's widow, who believes that justice was done back in 1984, was hoping that Frank would remain behind bars.

"I need proof that somebody else did it to make me change my mind. Because when it happened, he was found guilty," said Gina French.

On March 29, 2012, word finally came from Judge Clover's chambers. In her eight-page decision, she said the case against Frank was "based solely on eyewitness testimony." And "the new information presented casts legitimate doubt on the accuracy" of the all the witnesses who identified Frank O'Connell from the six-pack of photos.

"Eyewitness identification is a major, major problem in erroneous conviction," said Dr. Robert Shomer, a respected expert on eyewitness testimony who was consulted by Frank O'Connell's public defender in 1984, and more recently by Centurion Ministries.

"None of us know how an eyewitness identification procedure should be done unless we've studied it. Police come in. They present us pictures. And we feel that, you know, they must know what they're doing. So we follow their lead," said Dr. Shomer.

Shomer says that the six-pack method of lineup used by the detectives in Frank O'Connell's case has proven to be highly fallible.

"The largest source of error in eyewitness ID is the resemblance and similarity among people," he said.

Shomer says six-packs are still used by law enforcement regularly. In fact, Lankford and the other detectives currently investigating the murder of Jay French still use the same methods as their 1984 counterparts.

"Does the department still use the six pack?" Roberts asked Lt. Dave Dolson.

"Yeah, it's called a -- yeah, a photographic lineup, a six pack or a photo array," he replied.

"Would it be egregious to convict someone based solely on eyewitness testimony, in your opinion?" Roberts asked Shomer.

"Without expert testimony, without really having the jury educated as to how to evaluate the testimony, my answer would be, yes, it would be egregious," he replied.

And Judge Clover agreed. Frank O'Connell got the news from behind bars.

"I called my attorney ... and he told me the ruling came in and ... the ruling was my conviction was overturned," he said in tears, pausing before continuing. "It was a happy day. I -- couldn't hold it back."

But the fight wasn't over yet. The District Attorney's office now had the chance to appeal the judge's decision, and request a new trial.

Frank O'Connell would have to spend another month in prison waiting for a hearing in the same courtroom where he was convicted 27 years earlier.

"I'm walkin' in that courtroom holdin' my head up high -- knowin' I'm innocent, knowin' that I have a chance to -- to regain my freedom and get my liberties back. ... I was a nervous wreck," Frank told Roberts.

"I'm lookin' at the same courtroom, identical, same chairs, same jury box, same paneling, you name it the same. ... And -- my heart was pounding."

The district attorney spoke first.

"Your Honor -- at this time, the -- District Attorney's office has -- made a decision -- not to seek an appeal of the Court's order," said Assistant District Attorney Juan Mejia.

The 1985 conviction would remain overturned, but the original murder charges against Frank O'Connell were not dropped, and the D.A. was committed to scheduling a new trial.

"Are you kidding? You see the evidence and you wanna re-file charges on me?" said Frank.

The D.A. was also determined to keep Frank O'Connell behind bars.

"And we would just ask that the Court set bail according to the bail schedule, which would be $2 million," Assistant District Attorney Scott Goodwin addressed the judge.

"I was gob-smacked. I mean, I thought, 'Are you kidding me?'" said Germond.

The defense could never raise the money to cover that kind of bail bond. If the judge agreed to the $2 million, Frank would be transported back to prison.

"I certainly understand and agree with the People's argument ..." Judge Clover began.

"She starts off like that, so it sounds like going... he's not gettin' out," Nick recalled. "And she kept talking ... And I went, 'OK. Well, if I hear the word 'but'..."

"But I also believe that that bail schedule contemplates the usual case," Judge Clover continued. "This is not that case."

"She said the word 'but,'" Nick said with a laugh. "He's comin' home."

Judge Clover boldly set the same bail as the first judge in 1984: $75,000.

Frank O'Connell was finally going home, but the fight to clear his name wasn't over.

The day Frank O'Connell was released from prison he proudly marched down the street he grew up on, holding his head up high.

"This is an emotional moment for me, I'm so grateful... been wanting to do this for 27 years," he said as he walked towards his mother's house with a bouquet of flowers, greeted by neighbors.

When Frank was sent to prison for life, he shamed his family and his community...but today the one-time high school football star was returning a hero.

"It was important to me, not just for me to physically get out of prison," Frank explained. "But it was important for my family ... that their name is cleared. ...it's brought back the family honor."

His mother and sisters -- who had once turned their backs on him -- were anxious to welcome Frank home. He was more than happy to move on.

"I decided to forgive them," he said. "You know, they explained to me that they -- they didn't know any better. ... They believed the system. They believed the system worked."

"They see everything that happened, and they know their son's not a murderer," Frank continued.

Frank even read his mother a poem: "Sometimes your boy gets a little bit lost ... like a loving family dog, he has finally found his way back home. I promise not to run away again Mom."

Nick O'Connell didn't mind taking a backseat to his grandmother and aunts -- but only for a day.

"The day after he was released we got to play a little one-on-one," he proudly recalled. "And to be honest, I said, 'Next -- next bucket wins.' He made the next bucket. Pops -- pops is up 1-0."

But the reality was that Frank wasn't out of danger. He was just out on bail and could be going back to prison. There was a hearing scheduled in just 30 days, where the District Attorney's Office would either dismiss the charges or retry Frank O'Connell for the murder of Jay French.

"I don't have a fear about it," Frank told Troy Roberts. "But there's a possibility they're gonna-- retry. And if they do, then we're ready.

While Frank awaited the hearing, detectives were out searching for evidence against him.

"It's ridiculous because their investigation really seems, to me, to be about Frank and not really about a search for truth," Germond said. "If anybody honestly looks at the entire record ... there's only one person who benefited from the murder, and that's Jeanne."

Even though Jeanne was an angry ex-wife with a motive, detectives back in 1984 virtually ignored her. But today she can't be ignored--thanks to more explosive hidden evidence uncovered by Centurion and their lawyers.

"It was -- an attempt on Jay's life -- that had never been disclosed," said Kate Germond.

Remember those secret handwritten notes buried in the 1984 case file? A note, belonging to one of the detectives reveals that police knew that Jeanne had already tried to kill Jay French.

"At the time of the murder it was reported to the police ... that Jeanne ... had been in a car with another person and had tried to run Jay French off the road," said Germond.

"I think anybody who hears this story should get angry. I mean, you should be very angry," said Nick.

"Is there an active investigation into Jeanne?" Roberts asked Lt. Dave Dolson.

"Well, I -- I'm sure that -- we're still investigating -- reinvestigating the case," he replied. "And -- I'm -- I'm sure that -- Jeanne is -- is part of it, yeah. ... And what she knows, we hope to find out."

But Jeanne isn't easy to find. She reportedly lives in an odd fenced-in compound in Oregon. Now married to her fifth husband, Jeanne rarely leaves the property. "48 Hours" made several attempts to speak with or even spot her, but she never surfaced. Even Centurion was never able to get close to Jeanne.

"She learned long ago that if she doesn't say a word, she doesn't go to jail," said Germond.

Finally, Det. Steve Lankford did recently track Jeanne down, but she wasn't very helpful. She denied having anything to do with her ex-husband's murder, and then, surprisingly, the woman who first brought up Frank's name to police said she believes he's innocent.

Det. Lankford also spoke to people close to Jeanne, who told a slightly different story.

"48 Hours" obtained a copy of a recent videotaped police interview with one of Jeanne's ex-husbands. Mike Flick told detectives that Jeanne confessed to him that she paid a hitman to kill Jay French.

"She -- paid money to have her ex-husband -- offed because of-- he was abusive to the kid, and she -- and there was just -- you know, a lot of things that led up to it," Flick explained.

Flick seemed nervous about discussing Frank O'Connell with detectives, but in a declaration signed in 2008, Flick told Centurion that Jeanne said the man who was "arrested and convicted of Jay's murder" was "sent to prison for a crime he didn't commit."

Detective: Jeanne's the type of person that would let somebody sit in prison for 28 years who didn't do anything?

Mike Flick: He did 28 years?

Detective: Yeah.

Mike Flick: Jesus Christ. Is she the -- the type of person? ...Evidently she is.

Asked if Jeanne has gotten away with murder, Jay French's sister, Jolene told Roberts, "Yes, I think she has."

"I think all fingers pointed at her. And I-- I'm just really amazed that she has not served one day in jail," said her husband, Gene. "But ... whether she paid him, whether he did it for free ... we are so sure that Frank pulled the trigger."

"The French family still believes that you killed Jay," Roberts told Frank O'Connell.

"Yeah. That hurts me, that they -- that they think that," he said. "But you gotta understand also, they're the victims here. And they're being re-victimized again."

"The question is: who was the real killer? And I don't know that we'll ever know the answer to that, you know, in an honest way," said Frank.

On June 11, Frank O'Connell walked through the front door of the courthouse with his family, for what he hoped would be his last hearing.

With Detective Lankford at the prosecution's table, was the D.A.'s office about to charge Frank with murder, again?

"As the Court knows, the investigation is ongoing. At this time, The People are unable to proceed on the trial. However, we would like to preserve our right to refile..." said Deputy District Attorney SuSu Scott.

The D.A. was backing down, but not without a final twist. If detectives ever do find enough evidence against Frank, he can be arrested and retried. Still, Frank finally heard the words he had waited 28 years for:

"The case is dismissed and the bond is dissolved," Judge Clover announced.

"God bless Centurion Ministries for what they do. They are fightin' a David versus Goliath scenario in every case that they go into," said Nick.

Video: Frank O'Connell takes his name off of the Centurion Ministries "Active Case" board

Now that he is free, Frank is entitled to a $1 million in compensation from the state of California for his 27-year ordeal. But he is forfeiting that payout in order to file a civil rights lawsuit against the original detectives who arrested him. If he wins, he could receive as much as $27 million -- a million for every year spent behind bars.

Now free to leave California, Frank moved to Colorado to be with Nick and finally be a father.

"I can't make up for the lost time. That's not gonna happen," Frank said. "But we can start right now and move on and move forward and make our own -- history, make our own past."

"I've never been more inspired or more touched by a person. And I can't believe I'm lucky enough for that person to be my father, you know? Like, truly, my hero is my dad," Nick said. "... the circumstances he's gone through and the way he comes out on the other side with his head held high and with nothin' but goodness and love pourin' out of his soul? [Sighs] It's an absolute testament to his character. And the things that he does and what he brings to everybody around him."

Frank O'Connell is the 49th person freed by the work of Centurion Ministries