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The murder of Deborah Sykes: key points through the years

Deborah Sykes August 1984
Deborah Sykes is raped and murdered on her way to work at The Sentinel.
November 1985
A city manager's report blasts police department for shoddy work in investigating the Sykes murder. The lead detective is demoted and two supervisors are reprimanded two months later.
December 1985
The State Bureau of Investigation begins its own investigation into the murder.
October 1987
Hunt is convicted in the Wilson murder.
Johnny Gray May 1988
Johnny Gray is convicted of murder in the 1987 death af a 66-year-old man named Willis Mabe in Winston-Salem. He will die in prison in 2001.
November 1989
Hunt is freed on $50,000 bond.
Sammy Mitchell January 1990
Mitchell is charged with murder in Sykes' death. He has never been tried.
November 1994
DNA testing excludes Hunt as the source of the semen collected from Deborah Sykes' body. Testing also excludes Mitchell and Gray. But Judge Melzer Morgan denies Hunt's motion for a third trial, saying that the DNA results don't necessarily clear Hunt of involvement.
December 2000
Hunt petitions Gov. Jim Hunt for clemency. The petition now rests with Gov. Mike Easley.
Jim Hunt
Jim Hunt		 Mike Easley
Mike Easley
September 1984
Darryl Hunt is charged with murder in the Sykes killing. Alderman Larry Little organizes the Darryl Hunt Defense Committee.
June 1985
Hunt tried in Forsyth County on charges of first-degree murder, which could get him the death penalty. A jury convicts him but sentences him to life in prison because of lingering doubts about the case.
April 1986
Hunt and Sammy Mitchell are charged in the 1983 murder of Arthur Wilson in Winston-Salem.
October 1986
After a first jury could not reach a decision, Mitchell is convicted in a second trial for the Wilson murder. He goes to prison, where he remains today, to serve a 50-year sentence. The next month, the SBI completes its investigation of the Sykes murder. No new charges are brought.
May 1989
Hunt wins a new trial in the Sykes murder.
October 1989
Hunt wins a new trial in the Wilson case.		 Darryl Hunt
March 1990
At his second trial in the Wilson murder, Hunt is acquitted.
October 1990
Hunt is convicted at his second trial in the murder of Deborah Sykes. He is returned to prison after 11 months of freedom.
December 1994
The N.C. Supreme Court agrees with Morgan and denies Hunt a third trial.
December 1995
District Attorny Tom Keith orders a new round of DNA testing. Once again, Hunt, Mitchell and Gray are excluded as the source of the semen, as are two other potential suspects.		 Tom Keith
February 2000
The U.S. Court of Appeals turns down Hunt's appeal for a third trial.
April 2003
At the request of Hunt's attorneys, Judge Anderson Cromer orders a new round of DNA testing to compare the Sykes sample against state and federal databases of DNA profiles taken from convicted felons.