(NewsNation Now) — Who killed JoAnn Tate and repeatedly stabbed her two young children in 1982?
It’s a question more people are trying to answer and is even the focus of a podcast called “The Real Killer.” It explores Tate’s tragic murder and the quest for justice ever since.
For more than three decades, most people were convinced the criminal was a man named Rodney Lincoln. He was previously in a relationship with Tate. He was convicted of the crime and spent more than 36 years behind bars.
But in 2018, his life sentence was commuted by former Gov. Eric Greitens after DNA testing cast real doubt on his involvement in the crime. Also, the young daughter who identified him as the attacker recanted her accusation.
Leah Rothman, host of “The Real Killer,” said that “unfortunately” a lot of people didn’t want to believe that daughter when she recanted.
Lincoln is still technically convicted of the crimes but he is no longer in prison.
“There are people in the Missouri court system who still believe Rodney is the real killer. And there are other people out there, many people out there, that believe it’s not him.”
Rothman believes convicted serial killer Tommy Lynn Sells is one person who may have been responsible for Tate’s killing.
He was executed by lethal injection April 3, 2014, in Huntsville, Texas.