The woman wrongly convicted in the Beatrice 6 murder case has died

LINCOLN, Neb. (COLOGNE) – A woman who was one of six people wrongly convicted in the rape and murder of a woman in Beatrice in 1985.

Kathleen “Katie” Gonzalez of York passed away on January 10th while visiting Greeley, Colorado. obituary. He was 62 years old.

“She faced challenges that never left her alone, but she always didn’t let it define her,” he said.

Along with Joseph White, Thomas Winslow, Ada Joanne Taylor, Deb Shelden and James Dean, Gonzalez became known as the “Beatrice 6” and spent more than 70 years in prison for the rape and murder of 68-year-old Helen Wilson. They became the first people to be exonerated by DNA evidence after being convicted in Nebraska in 2008. Wilson’s death was later linked through DNA to former Beatrice resident and ex-convict Bruce Allen Smith, who died in 1992.

Six wrongfully convicted men are suing Gage County after being released from prison, alleging the county conducted a negligent investigation. A federal jury awarded them $28.1 million in 2016, plus interest and attorney’s fees, bringing the total to more than $30 million.

Gonzalez recently appeared in an HBO Max documentary called Mint on Murder, which chronicles the complex story.

A memorial service for Gonzalez will be held in York on Saturday.

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