DNA Evidence Doesn't Convince Jury of Guilt in 1983 Murder

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The state's highest court has overturned a sexual assault conviction.

San Francisco prosecutors have struck out in their first try to convict William Payne of murder. But they will keep swinging.

Payne, 48, was charged with first-degree murder in the 1983 death of 41-year old Nikolaus Crumbley in January, after a "cold hit DNA" test linked him to the death, according to the San Francisco Examiner.

But despite the DNA evidence proving Payne was on the scene with Crumbley, with whom he had sex, the jury hung on charges of murder.

The San Francisco District Attorney's Offcie will push for a retrial, with opening arguments scheduled for Oct. 22, the newspaper reported.

Payne was 19 when Crumbley was found dead, face down and with his pants and underwear pulled down to his ankles, at the corner of John Shelley Drive and Mansell Street near John McClaren Park.

Payne was arrested for the crime in January. The DNA evidence proves that the pair had sex, but not that Payne killed Crumbley, the newspaper reported.

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DNA Evidence Doesn't Convince Jury of Guilt in 1983 Murder