About the Event:
The Drake Law School Wrongful Conviction Clinic, the Iowa State Public Defender’s Wrongful Conviction Unit- Actual Innocence Division, and Advocates for Truth & Justice, LLC, invite the public to an event recognizing Wrongful Convictions Day on Tuesday, September 30, 2025 at XBK Live. Doors will open at 5 p.m., with presentation beginning at 5:30 p.m.
Pursuing Truth - The Wrongful Conviction of Annette Cahill will honor International Wrongful Conviction Day by highlighting the main causes of wrongful convictions, the number of Iowans currently seeking exoneration, and an in-depth case study of a wrongful conviction case currently being litigated in Iowa.
Join us to learn more about efforts to free Annette Cahill, an innocent woman, and the work being done in Iowa to correct the injustice and tragedy of wrongful convictions.
Background:
In October 1992, Corey Wieneke was beaten to death in his bedroom in West Liberty, Iowa. Despite many possible motives, the investigation went cold and no arrests were made. Corey's family, friends and fiancé grieved and eventually continued their lives, including Annette.
Twenty-seven years later, Annette Cahill, a wife, mother, and grandmother, was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 50 years in prison for Corey Wieneke's murder - a crime she did not commit.
Her conviction relied on the testimony of a nurse who, in 2018, alleged she overheard Cahill confess to killing Corey Wieneke while talking to herself. The nurse was just nine years old at the time of the overheard “confession”.
Central to the conviction was a baseball bat with blood staining found near the crime scene, alleged to be the murder weapon. New and conclusive DNA testing proves that neither Cahill’s nor Wieneke’s DNA is present. More concerning, unknown DNA profiles were found on the bat. Annette's trial was marked with multiple due process violations.
Annette Cahill deserves justice. The evidence demands a thorough review and an unbiased consideration. The new scientific evidence does not support Cahill’s conviction. A post-conviction relief trial is set for January 26, 2026, in Muscatine, Iowa.
Other Ways to Support Annette:
