(WXYZ) — Murder charges against a man convicted in the death of a Detroit man in September 2011 have been dismissed.
The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office said second degree murder and felony firearm charges against Edward Khalil were dismissed after newly discovered evidence from the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office Conviction Integrity Unit.
Khalil was convicted on the charges related to the shooting death of Anthony Jones on Sept. 15, 2011. Khalil and his business partner owned the building, which was undergoing renovations.
The prosecutor's office said Khalil either shot Jones or directed an employee to shoot Jones, but Khalil claimed he was seven miles away when Jones was shot and he didn't direct his employee to kill him.
His first trial was appealed, and a new trial was ordered, and he was convicted on Dec. 18, 2017, and sentenced to 16 1/2 to 30 years in jail.
Prosecutors argued that Khalil and his partner were frustrated by DPD failing to arrest scrappers.
On the morning of the killing, a male employee said he killed Jones, but recanted later that month.
During the CIU investigation, cell tower records show that Khalil's phone was at least seven miles away, and that a claim that a woman's voice was on Khalil's phone has been "significantly refuted."
The employee also said he was talking to Khalil, and that another person was talking to Khalil on the phone.
"CIU’s analysis shows that several circumstances contributed to flawed factfinding in this case. Mr. Khalil’s business partner was reluctant to testify during the case, and he was reluctant to get his son involved. When the business partner was ultimately persuaded to return to give testimony at a post-conviction hearing, he was informed that he could be charged with murder if he testified. This effectively drove him from the witness stand," the CIU said.
