Mother of man imprisoned 30 years: 'This day is more than 10,000 days overdue'

CHICAGO — Citing DNA evidence, Cook County authorities on Wednesday freed a man who spent nearly 30 years in prison for the rape and murder of a 15-year-old girl, tacitly acknowledging that the true perpetrator has so far escaped punishment for a particularly vicious crime.

Christopher Abernathy, 48, walked out of Stateville Correctional Center near Joliet, Ill., after a judge wiped away his conviction for killing Kristina Hickey in 1984 in Park Forest, south of Chicago, after she had performed at a high school choir concert.

Outside the prison where he had been serving a sentence of life without possible parole, Abernathy joined his ailing 73-year-old mother, Ann Kolus, who has insisted on his innocence since he was arrested at age 18. His release fulfilled her wish that he walk free in her lifetime.

After the judge cleared her son, Kolus wept in the courthouse hallway and said quietly, "I didn't think this day was ever going to come."

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