Updated as of 9/17/2024 at 3:35 p.m. ET
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Nothing can truly make right the unbelievable injustice Keith Sylvester faced back in 2018, but now, the City of Atlanta just took the final step towards righting their wrongs after a tragic double murder resulted in the false imprisonment of a grieving son.
According to Fox 5, the city has approved a $1.5 million settlement for Sylvester following a appellate court ruling reversing his conviction. “The argument goes, a jury could find that Detective Barnett either intentionally lied to the state judge or was so reckless with the truth that he misled the state judge into thinking there was probable cause,” according to the court’s ruling.
Sylvester’s world was turned upside down when he learned his mother, Deborah, 65, and her husband, Harry Hubbard, 67, had been murdered in their Georgia home back in July 2018, according to 11 Alive. The Hubbards’ home was set ablaze after they were both strangled. But what was even more shocking is who would take the fall for the tragedy.
In the months following his parents’ deaths, Sylvester quickly became the family’s spokesperson, even assisting police and hanging up arson posters in the neighborhood, according to Fox 5.
As the investigation into the murders deepened, however, Sylvester not only found himself in deep grief, but also in deep trouble when police arrested and charged him with two counts of murder and arson six months after the incident, per WGRZ. The then 47-year-old maintained his innocence, even telling Fox 5, “I am innocent and had nothing to do with my mother and stepfather’s death,” at the time.
Sylvester’s pleas sadly went unheard as he spent 14 months in Fulton County Jail for a crime he did not commit, according to Fox News. It wasn’t until 2020 when investigators finally caught the man who was actually responsible for the Hubbards’ murders.
“The case against Keith Sylvester was dismissed after the matter was independently investigated by the Major Felonies Unit of the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office,” said former Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard.
He continued, “The result of this investigation shows that an assailant, who was unnamed in the original police investigation, was, in fact, in the house of Deborah and Harry Hubbard 20 minutes before a 911 call was placed regarding the fire that caused their deaths.”
The man responsible, Cornelius Muckle, has since been charged with the murders and currently awaits trail starting on Oct. 3, according to 11 Alive.
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