MUSCATINE COUNTY, Iowa — An Iowa appeals court on Friday, March 25 rejected a convicted murderer's request for a new trial and her claims that the prosecution had failed due to a lack of DNA testing.
According to court documents, Cahill had bludgeoned Wieneke to death with a baseball bat on Oct. 13, 1992, in his West Liberty home for his involvement with other women.
Muscatine County investigators credited a random tip with solving the cold case decades later. In 2017, a woman came forward saying that at the age of 9 she recalled hearing Cahill confess to the killing, and in 2018, Cahill was charged with first-degree murder.
In March 2019, a jury trial ended in a mistrial when the jury could not decide whether or not to convict Cahill for the murder of former boyfriend Corey Lee Wieneke. A second jury trial in September 2019 found Cahill guilty of second-degree murder, and a judge imposed a 50-year sentence.
Annette Cahill argued her 14th Amendment rights were violated in her 2019 conviction for a murder that happened nearly 30 years prior. Her appeal said alternate DNA testing was required, the delay in prosecution diminished her ability to present a defense and the main witnesses were too unreliable to let testify.
In its rejection of her appeal, the Court said Cahill could have sought DNA testing prior to the trial and may still pursue testing. It found no prejudice in her ability to make her case, said the district court didn't err in allowing the jury to scrutinize the credibility of witnesses and declared there was significant evidence to find Cahill guilty of second-degree murder.
Cahill will continue her prison sentence at the Iowa Correctional Institution for Women in Mitchellville. Any parole opportunities will remain up to the Iowa Board of Parole.