'I Think I'm Innocent'
Reader's Digest US|March 2019

DNA analysis is the most reliable crime-scene tool, having exonerated dozens of wrongly convicted people. But it can sometimes lead to tragic mistakes.

Katie Worth
'I Think I'm Innocent'

WHEN THE DNA results came back, even Lukis Anderson thought he might have committed the murder.

“I drink a lot,” he told public defender Kelley Kulick as they sat in an interview room at the jail in Santa Clara County, California. Sometimes he blacked out, so it was possible he had done something he didn’t remember. “Maybe I did do it.”

Kulick shushed him. “Lukis, shut up,” she said. If she was going to keep her new client off death row, he couldn’t go around saying things like that. But she agreed. It looked bad. “Let’s just work through the evidence to really see what happened.”

Before he was charged with murder, Anderson had been a 26-year-old homeless alcoholic with a long rap sheet who spent his days hustling for change in San Jose. The murder victim, Raveesh Kumra, was a 66-year-old investor who lived in Monte Sereno, a Silicon Valley enclave ten miles and many socioeconomic rungs away.

Around midnight on November 29, 2012, three men broke into Raveesh’s 7,000-square-foot mansion. They found him watching CNN in the living room, tied him up, blindfolded him, and gagged him with duct tape decorated with pictures of mustaches. They found his ex-wife, Harinder Kumra, asleep upstairs, hit her on the mouth, blindfolded her, and tied her up next to Raveesh down in the kitchen. Then they rummaged for cash and jewelry.

After the men left, Harinder, still blindfolded, felt her way to a phone and called 911. Police arrived, then an ambulance. One of the paramedics declared Raveesh dead. The coroner would later conclude that he had been suffocated by the mustache duct tape. Three and a half weeks later, the police arrested Anderson. His DNA had been found on Raveesh’s fingernails, suggesting that Raveesh had struggled as the intruders tied him up. Anderson was charged with murder. Kulick was appointed to his case.

Esta historia es de la edición March 2019 de Reader's Digest US.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

Esta historia es de la edición March 2019 de Reader's Digest US.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

MÁS HISTORIAS DE READER'S DIGEST USVer todo
A New Way to Monitor Blood Sugar
Reader's Digest US

A New Way to Monitor Blood Sugar

Who can benefit from this wearable technology

time-read
3 minutos  |
November 2024
A Flag for Dad
Reader's Digest US

A Flag for Dad

An old sailor made a last wish. His son was determined to see that it came true.

time-read
4 minutos  |
November 2024
Sisterhood to Last a Lifetime
Reader's Digest US

Sisterhood to Last a Lifetime

These college pals teach a master class in how to maintain a friendship for 50-plus years

time-read
4 minutos  |
November 2024
...TO DIE ON A HOCKEY RINK
Reader's Digest US

...TO DIE ON A HOCKEY RINK

ONE MINUTE I WAS PLAYING IN MY BEER LEAGUE, THE NEXT I WAS IN THE HOSPITAL

time-read
9 minutos  |
November 2024
Yes, There's a Museum for That!
Reader's Digest US

Yes, There's a Museum for That!

These collections are wacky, wonderful and worth a visit

time-read
3 minutos  |
November 2024
Town Meeting Is Called!
Reader's Digest US

Town Meeting Is Called!

Once a year, the people of Elmore, Vermont, gather to practice a cherished right: democracy

time-read
8 minutos  |
November 2024
Just Tight
Reader's Digest US

Just Tight

Broken, battered and trapped in a ravine for days, a desperate driver wonders, \"Will anyone find me?\"

time-read
9 minutos  |
November 2024
Election Day Memories
Reader's Digest US

Election Day Memories

Stories about voting by the people, for the people

time-read
4 minutos  |
November 2024
WHY OUR BODIES DON'T DIG DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME
Reader's Digest US

WHY OUR BODIES DON'T DIG DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME

Twice a year, when we spring ahead and fall back, we're more prone to sleepiness, depression and accidents

time-read
7 minutos  |
November 2024
MONEYSAVING DO'S AND DON'TS
Reader's Digest US

MONEYSAVING DO'S AND DON'TS

The run-up to the holidays doesn't have to bah-humbug your budget. A shopping expert shares strategies for saving big now and all year round.

time-read
10 minutos  |
November 2024