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Texas Court Reverses Conviction In Dog Scent Case

By KRWG News

Texas – The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has acquitted a convicted murderer imprisoned primarily because a trio of bloodhounds allegedly matched his scent to the crime scene.

The appeals court reversed the 2007 guilty verdict against Richard Winfrey Sr. on Wednesday, ruling the evidence was legally insufficient to convict.

The main evidence in the 2004 murder of Murray Burr was a positive scent identification from three bloodhounds named Quincy, James Bond and Clue. The dogs belong to former Fort Bend Sheriff's Deputy Keith Pikett, who retired this year.

Pikett is a defendant in at least three lawsuits from men saying they were wrongly jailed after his dogs linked them to crimes they did not commit. He did not immediately return a message left by The Associated Press.

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.