The Decatur Daily Democrat

Ex-Indiana trooper cleared in slayings wins $4.6M settlement

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NEW ALBANY, Ind. ( AP) — A former Indiana state trooper cleared of killing his wife and their two children at a third trial after spending 13 years in prison will receive $4.6 million from the state to settle a federal lawsuit, his attorneys said Wednesday.

David Camm's settlement was reached in January, entered into court in February and confirmed Wednesday by his attorneys.

"There is not enough money in the world to compensate David Camm for what he has been through," one of the attorneys, Garry Adams, said in a statement.

Camm, 58, was convicted by two different juries in the shooting deaths of his wife, Kim, 35, and his children, Brad, 7, and Jill, 5, on Sept. 28, 2000, in the garage at their Georgetown, Indiana, home in Floyd County. Both times he won appeals that sent his case back for retrial. The jury at his third trial in 2013 acquitted him.

Camm has always maintained he was playing basketball at a church during the slayings. At least 11 witnesses corroborat­e his story, but prosecutor­s said Camm raced home, committed the crimes and returned.

The federal lawsuit alleged several investigat­ors falsified evidence and relied on the opinion of unqualifie­d experts. It named as defendants the lead Indiana State Police investigat­or in the case and two blood stain pattern analysis expert witnesses.

According to the lawsuit, a state police photograph­er who had never been to a fresh blood scene determined that the splatter on Camm's shirt meant he was present when the shots were fired.

As part of the federal settlement, Camm agreed not to bring any further legal action against the defendants, the state, the Indiana State Police, and the estate of Stan Faith, the original prosecutor.

Camm was awarded $450,000 in a settlement with Floyd County in 2016. He also has received an undisclose­d amount from insurance carriers for expert witnesses who testified against him, Adams said.

Another man, Charles Boney, was arrested in 2005 and convicted of murder and conspiracy after DNA evidence linked him to the crime scene. Prosecutor­s maintained that Boney helped, but that Camm pulled the trigger.

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