National News

Texas man convicted in '81 stabbing death freed

Posted: 02/11/13 at 9:50 pm EST

CORSICANA, Texas (AP) -- A 58-year-old Texas man who served nearly 30 years in prison for a murder conviction has been freed after DNA testing pointed to another suspect.

Randolph Arledge was allowed to go free Monday by a judge in Corsicana, about 50 miles southeast of Dallas. Arledge was convicted in 1984 of stabbing a woman more than 40 times and leaving her body on a dirt road. He was given 99 years.

But prosecutors and Arledge's attorneys with the Innocence Project agreed Arledge should be released after DNA tests on a hairnet found in Carolyn Armstrong's car turned up a near-perfect match for another man, who's still at large.

Judge James Lagomarsino agreed with the attorneys' recommendations.

Arledge also served a sentence for armed robbery during part of his time in prison.

(Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Latest Video