Hemme release upheld by court

By NewsPress Now

An appeals court has upheld the release of a woman who served more than 40 years in prison for a Buchanan County murder she says she did not commit.

The Missouri Court of Appeals Western District released its opinion Tuesday in the case involving Sandra Hemme, who a Livingston County Judge ordered freed in July despite opposition from Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey. Courts had previously ruled there was evidence of her innocence despite Hemme serving 43 years of a life sentence in the 1980 stabbing of Patricia Jeschke, who worked at a St. Joseph library.

Bailey had asked the appeals court to reconsider Hemme’s release, but the panel ruled the Livingston County judge did not exceed his authority in allowing her to go free.

Hemme was questioned while in a psychiatric hospital following the murder and her confession was the only evidence that linked her to the crime.

Attorneys argued signs that a former St. Joseph police officer was involved in the murder weren’t disclosed before Hemme’s trial. That man, Michael Holman, died in 2015, but evidence showed his truck was seen outside Jeschke’s apartment, that he attempted to use her credit card after her death and that he had some of her jewelry in his possession.

The Buchanan County Prosecutor’s office now has 10 days to declare its intention in writing to retry Hemme if officials wish to do so.