Kirk Bloodsworth was charged with the rape and murder of Dawn Hamilton, a nine-year old girl. He received the death penalty in Maryland. Kirk spent nine years behind bars. He always maintained his innocence throughout his stay in prison. Although he did face some hard times in prison, he always managed to get back to working on proving his innocence.

The Background of the Dawn Hamilton Case

On July 25, 1984, Dawn Hamilton was raped and murdered in the woods near her father’s apartment complex, Fontana Village. Prior to her death, Dawn left the apartment to find some of her friends (Junkin, 2005, p. 31). On her way, she saw two boys she knew Chris Shipley and Jackie Poling (Junkin, 2005, p.31). They were fishing and she stopped to talk to them (Junkin, 2005, p.31). As she was with Chris and Jackie, a man approached her and asked her what she was up to (Junkin, 2005, p. 31). There are two accounts as to what the man told Dawn. The first mentions that he’s playing hide and seek with Lisa (Junkin, 2005, p. 31). The second account mentions that the man had offered to help her look for Lisa (Junkin, 2005, p. 31). Dawn Hamilton was last seen with the unknown man.

Elinor Helmick, the woman that watching over her, began to worry when Dawn didn’t return. Once the police were called, over 100 officers came to search the area Dawn was last seen in (Junkin, 2005, p. 31). After 2 pm that day, Dawn’s body was found in the woods (Junkin, 2005, p. 31). This discovery led to a criminal investigation which resulted in an innocent man to be wrongfully convicted.

The Investigation of the Dawn Hamilton Case

Homicide detectives William Ramsey and Robert Capel were the lead detectives on the case. While at the scene, detective Ramsey believed that a rock with possible blood on it was the murder weapon (Junkin, 2005, p. 39). Detective Capel was the officer that conducted the composite sketches from the eyewitnesses. The first eyewitness that detective Capel worked with was Chris Shipley because he was the eldest (Junkin, 2005, p. 44). It seemed apparent that over time Capel was getting irritated with the process because Chris wasn’t completely satisfied with the sketch. After conducting sketches with the other eyewitnesses, detective Capel stuck with the one that Chris helped guide. Once the composite sketch went out to the public, the Baltimore County police department had their sights set on Kirk Bloodsworth.

There were several leads that the Baltimore County police department could have followed up but ultimately they chose not to follow them. Detectives Capel and Ramsey were stuck on Bloodsworth because he seem to fit the FBI psychological profile (Junkin, 2005, p. 57). The detectives went to Cambridge, Maryland to find Kirk. Once they made contact with Kirk, they wanted to talk to him down at the station. Kirk figured there wouldn’t be any harm in talking to the detectives since he was innocent. At this point in time, the detectives had already gotten their gamebit in order. Capel and Ramsey were determined to gain a reaction from Kirk. Kirk Bloodsworth did not react to the little girl’s underwear, the shorts, or the rock.

After the initial interview, the detectives interrogated Bloodsworth and came to the conclusion that he was the one that raped and murdered Dawn Hamilton. Detectives Capel and Ramsey arrested Bloodsworth and charged him the first-degree murder of Dawn Hamilton (Junkin, 2005, p. 95-96). Despite being told not to watch the news, the eyewitnesses for the lineup would watch the news and be exposed to seeing Kirk Bloodsworth handcuffed. As a result, they all picked Kirk in the lineup prior to the trial.