11.09.11
Suspect arrested in Christine Morton murder case
APNewsBreak: Suspect arrested in killing of Texas woman whose husband was wrongfully convicted.
The attorney for a man who spent nearly 25 years in prison after being wrongfully convicted of killing his wife says a new suspect has been arrested in the case.
Attorney John Raley tells The Associated Press that the Texas attorney general’s office shared the news with him Wednesday.
The daughter of a second victim linked to the new suspect says authorities also told her of the arrest. The attorney general’s office declined to comment.
Raley represents Michael Morton, who was released from prison last month after new DNA testing cleared him in the beating death of his wife.
Christine Morton was beaten to death in her bed on Aug. 13, 1986. Her husband was convicted on circumstantial evidence.
Brandi Grissom at the Texas Tribune tweeted -
John Raley, attorney for Michael Morton, confirms arrest has been made and the suspect was being transported to the Williamson County Jail.
More as it becomes available…
[UPDATE]: Suspect identified, via AAS, Suspect identified in Christine Morton murder.
The suspect arrested in the Christine Morton’s 1986 murder has been identified as Mark Alan Norwood, 57, who public records show lived near the scene of a related Austin murder in 1988.
Norwood lived in the 1400 block of Justin Lane starting in 1985, records show - one block from the Brentwood Neighborhood house where Debra Masters Baker was found bludgeoned to death in her bed.
Baker’s murder remains unsolved. Norwood has not been arrested in the Baker murder, and Austin police say they will have nothing to say about Norwood’s arrest as their investigation continues.
This summer, Norwood’s DNA was found on a bandanna that also contained Christine Morton’s blood. DNA tests also confirmed that his pubic hair was found in the bedroom where Baker was killed. Police have said that owner of the hair and Baker did not know each other, providing no legitimate reason for his hair to be found at the murder scene.
Public records show Norwood was arrested in Texas in 1975 for marijuana possession, receiving one year of probation, and in 1987 for burglary of an auto and three counts of theft, receiving a four-year prison sentence that began in January 1989.
California records show arrests for narcotics possession, resisting arrest and possession of a dangerous weapon in February 2008.