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WACO, Texas (AP) — A Texas man who was sentenced to life in prison for fatally shooting two teenagers in 1992 is now a free man after a district attorney dismissed the charges.
Richard Bryan Kussmaul was convicted of capital murder in 1994 for killing 17-year-old Leslie Murphy and 14-year-old Stephen Neighbors in a mobile home near Moody, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of Dallas.
His conviction was vacated last year due to DNA evidence.
The Waco Tribune-Herald reports that the McLennan County District Attorney's Office dismissed the charges Wednesday, citing "passage of time," testimony recantations from Kussmaul's three co-defendants and improvements in DNA technology.
The prosecutor also dismissed charges against James Edward Long, Michael Dewayne Shelton and James Wayne Pitts Jr. who were convicted of sexual assault in the attack.
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Information from: Waco Tribune-Herald, http://www.wacotrib.com
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