WAUKEGAN, Ill. (CBS) A state appeals court has ordered that DNA evidence from a 1997 murder trial in Lake County be tested for the first time.

As WBBM Newsradios Bernie Tafoya reports, Louis Rozo, 46, has already served more than 15 years of his 75-year sentence. He was convicted of the murder of retired speech pathology professor Christy Shervanian, 69, on Dec. 1, 1996, in his Highland Park home.

LISTEN: WBBM Newsradios Bernie Tafoya reports

Rozo tried a few years ago to get a Lake County judge to order than evidence from the trial undergo DNA testing, but he was turned down.

But now, a higher court says samples of tissue from underneath the victims fingernails, and blood recovered from a glove, should be tested.

Rozo also wants the DNA samples to be compared to those of two men who were lovers of the victim. One of them, Rudolph Zink, even testified for the prosecution at Rozos trial in 1997.

There is no reason not to test the already extant DNA evidence of the two other men whom (Rozo) alleges were actually involved in the murder. This evidence would be materially relevant to defendants claim of innocence, Second District Appellate Justice Robert McLaren wrote in his opinion.

Rozo will be eligible for parole in 2034.

DNA evidence is a hot-button issue in Lake County, following several recent cases where it led to convictions being tossed, or charges being dropped.

Leading the high-profile cases in Lake County is that of Jerry Hobbs, who was jailed for five years awaiting trial, having been charged in the murders of his 8-year-old daughter, Laura Hobbs, and her friend, Krystal Tobias, 9. Their bodies were found in 2005 in the Beulah Park Forest Preserve in Zion.

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Appeals Court Allows For DNA Testing In 1996 Highland Park Murder Case