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    Rising Daughter Investigation

    Rising Daughter Baptist Church was the site of the stunning murders of Harold and Thelma Swain on March 11, 1985. (Hyosub Shin / Hyosub.Shin@ajc.com)
    News
    Video: Introducing the Rising Daughter investigation
    Reporter Joshua Sharpe covers crime and criminal justice for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. A 2020 court filing by the Georgia Innocence Project says new DNA testing, prompted by Sharpe's reporting, may implicate an earlier suspect and not the man who has served 20 years in prison. (Tyson Horne / Tyson.Horne@ajc.com)
    News
    Audio: Hear the project podcast
    Rising Daughter Baptist Church was the site of the stunning murders of Harold and Thelma Swain on March 11, 1985. (RYON HORNE RHORNE@AJC.COM)
    NewsThe Imperfect Alibi: An AJC Investigation
    Harold and Thelma Swain are buried in the cemetery next to the church where they were murdered in 1985.
    News
    A timeline of the ‘Rising Daughter’ case
    In 2003, Dennis Perry was convicted in the Glynn County Magistrate Court in Brunswick for the 1985 murders of Harold and Thelma Swain. on Tuesday, May 5, 2020. Perry has always maintained his innocence. A court filing by the Georgia Innocence Project says new DNA testing matches Erik Sparre, an earlier suspect. New testing came after learning that AJC reporting uncovered problems with Sparre's alibi. (Hyosub Shin / Hyosub.Shin@ajc.com)
    News
    The team that brought you "The Imperfect Alibi" and how it was reported
    More information
    The GBI search the home of Erik Sparre in the southeast area of Waynesville, Georgia, on Aug. 6, 2020. The GBI said the search was part of an effort to determine if Sparre was involved in the 1985 murders of Harold and Thelma Swain. (Tyson Horne / Tyson.Horne@ajc.com)
    Crime & Public Safety
    GBI searches property of man tied to Ga. church murders investigation
    Dennis Perry, center, standing beside wife Brenda Perry gets emotional while thanking the team from the Georgia Innocence Project after they worked to get his release from 20 years behind bars, Thursday, July 23, 2020, in Nicholls, Ga. (Stephen B. Morton for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
    News
    Man walks free after conviction tossed in Ga. church murders
    Prosecutor John B. Johnson III heads back to his area during the hearing for Dennis Perry in Brunswick on July 13, 2020. An Atlanta Journal-Constitution investigation has found that Johnson has withheld evidence in a series of cases that he was legally required to share with the defense, evidence that defendants could have used to win an acquittal. (Ryon Horne/RHORNE@AJC.COM)
    Georgia News
    Dark legacy of overturned convictions trails longtime prosecutor
    Dennis Perry in a recent photo. (Family photo)
    News
    Conviction overturned in Ga. church murders case
    Dennis Perry watched and listened remotely during a hearing for a new trial in the murder case in which he was found guilty two decades ago on July 13, 2020. Ryon Horne/RHORNE@AJC.COM
    The Imperfect Alibi
    Ga. prosecutors fight to keep man in prison despite evidence he’s...
    Rising Daughter Baptist Church in Spring Bluff was the site of the murders of Harold and Thelma Swain on March 11, 1985. TYSON HORNE / TYSON.HORNE@AJC.COM
    Crime & Public Safety
    Man convicted in Georgia church murders has hearing to decide fate
    Rising Daughter Baptist Church was the site of the stunning murders of Harold and Thelma Swain on March 11, 1985. (Hyosub Shin / Hyosub.Shin@ajc.com)
    Crime & Public Safety
    Man who says he’s innocent of Ga. church murders may get parole
    A Georgia couple was killed in church 35 years ago, and a man sits in prison convicted of their murder. Is he the right guy? Join us for the premiere of an AJC Documentary: The Imperfect Alibi (Ryon Horne)
    Crime & Public Safety
    GBI fast-tracks church murders case over wrongful conviction concerns
    Features
    ajc.com
    News
    What is the Georgia Innocence Project?
    Harold and Thelma Swain were shot in the vestibule of Rising Daughter Baptist Church in 1985. Harold's body lay in the far left corner of this recent image and Thelma's lay in a doorway to the sanctuary on the far right side. In 1985, the vestibule had two sets of double-doors leading into the sanctuary. The church has since been renovated so that those entrances have been replaced by a single set of double-doors, seen here at right. (Hysosub Shin / hyosub.shin@ajc.com)
    News
    From the editor: A note to readers
    Multimedia
    Crime & Public Safety
    PHOTOS: Dennis Perry freed in Ga. church murders case
    News
    PHOTOS: Testimony about conviction in Ga. church murders
    News
    Video: Introducing the Rising Daughter investigation
    News
    Photos: How the Rising Daughter case unfolded
    News
    Video: AJC reporting leads to DNA match in murders
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