Case History

In the early morning hours of July 8, 1997, Omar Ballard raped and murdered eighteen-year-old Michelle Bosko in her apartment in Norfolk, Virginia.  Ballard has admitted, and continues to confirm, that he committed this horrific crime alone. 

Although there were multiple clues that should have led police directly to Omar Ballard, instead, less than four hours after Ms. Bosko’s body was discovered, the police jumped to the conclusion that Danial, who lived in the apartment across the hall from the Boskos with his wife Nicole, had committed this heinous crime. 

The police’s tunnel vision zeroed in on Danial and later focused on Joe, Eric, and Derek, despite glaring warning signs that these men could not have committed this crime, and long after the evidence conclusively proved that they were innocent of Michelle’s rape and murder. 

This misguided focus persisted even after DNA evidence and Ballard’s detailed and uncoerced confession proved that Omar Ballard, and Omar Ballard alone, had raped and murdered Ms. Bosko.

Danial, Joseph, and Derek spent nearly a dozen years behind bars for a crime that another man committed, and Eric served eight-and-a-half years. All the men are still fighting to clear their names. 

Please review the following PDF files for more information about the case: