Spring 1987 — The police ask Debbie's mother, Peggy, if she'll sign off on allowing them to exhume her daughter's body. The police say it's because they're re-examining a bloody palm print that was found on the wall of Debbie's apartment the morning after she was killed.
May 8, 1987 — Ron Williamson is arrested after telling the police that he had a dream of going to Debbie's door, breaking in, raping, and killing her.
September 1987 — Ricky Jo Simmons confesses to her rape and murder, but the police refuse to accept his confession.
Spring 1988 — The day before the prosecution would have had to drop the charges against Fritz, an inmate that he was paired with in prison years earlier comes forward and says she heard him confess to the murder. The "jailhouse snitch" gives a two hour taped interview including details about Debbie's murder she allegedly heard from Fritz.
April 1988 — During Fritz's trial, an analyst testifies that 11 pubic hairs and two head hairs from the crime scene are "consistent" with Fritz's hair. "This means they match," the analyst explains. He also presents highly misleading findings about the semen they examined from the scene.
April 12, 1988 — Fritz is convicted and sentenced to life in prison (he comes within one vote of receiving the death penalty.) Given how many years had passed between the murder and his trial, Fritz could no longer recall his whereabouts on that night. The district attorney argues that while Williamson masterminded the murder, Fritz was along for the ride.
April 27, 1988 — Williamson's trial starts, which includes testimony from a woman named Andrea who claims that he broke into her house years before and raped her (she lived near Debbie at the time, too).
April 28, 1988 — The jury sentences Williamson to the death penalty. The district attorney, Bill Peterson, makes the case that Williamson got into a fight with Debbie at the bar the night of her death, corroborated by eyewitness Glen Gore. However, Williamson refutes this by saying he has an alibi; he says he was home the entire night, and that his mom can vouch for his whereabouts. His mother had a receipt from renting movies they watched that night, and also an entry in her journal since she kept fastidious notes in her journal about her daily life. Despite submitting both to the police, the journal and receipt ended up going mysteriously missing.