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Reporters Laura A. Bischoff and Mary McCarty spent seven months on Innocence Betrayed. They conducted extensive interviews with members of the Elkins family, police, prosecutors, attorneys, investigators and officials in the Ohio Attorney General's office. In addition, they examined thousands of pages of court records, including the trial transcript, police reports, crime scene photos, witness statements, bankruptcy records, appeals briefs and other documents.

In attempting to provide a true account of what happened we asked each participant to relive the experience, recalling conversations, thoughts, prayers and even dreams. These private memories are essential to show not just what happened on June 7, 1998, but the impact of that night on everyone caught in its wake.

The story touched a number of people, most of all 14-year-old Brooke Sutton. She was the only witness to the attack, was in the house when her grandmother Judy Johnson was raped and murdered, and was brutally beaten and raped. Just 6 years old at the time, Brooke showed incredible courage in the face of unimaginable trauma. The Dayton Daily News rarely identifies rape victims, particularly child rape victims. But Brooke's name has appeared many times in the media, and she has been interviewed on shows such as Larry King Live. More importantly, Brooke and her legal guardian, Melinda Elkins, agreed to the use of her name for this story. "We have nothing to be ashamed of," Melinda said.

The story is as accurate a representation of the facts as we could make, with one exception. To protect Melinda and Brooke from harm, the newspaper is not revealing the community in which they are living.

Innocence Betrayed is a story of a grievous miscarriage of justice and one woman's fight to set it right. Without the cooperation from her, and virtually all others involved, it would not be possible.

Who we are

Laura A. Bischoff is a Columbus bureau correspondent for the Dayton Daily News. Previously she worked for the Flint Journal. She is a graduate of the University of Michigan. Contact her at (614) 224-1624 or lbischoff@daytondailynews.com

Mary McCarty is a columnist for the Dayton Daily News. Previously she worked for the Savannah (Ga.) News-Press and Cincinnati Magazine. She is a graduate of Miami University in Oxford. Contact her at (937) 225-2209 or mmccarty@daytondailynews.com

Jim Witmer is a staff photographer for the Dayton Daily News. Previously he worked for the Troy Daily News and the Miami (Fla.) News. He is a graduate of Ohio University. Contact him at (937) 225-2218 or jwitmer@daytondailynews.com

Other contributors

Editor: John Erickson

(Contact at (937) 225-2266 or jerickson@daytondailynews.com)

Layout Editor: Anthony Shoemaker

Artist: John Hancock

Art Director: Ted Pitts

Photo Editor: Skip Peterson

Copy Editor: Lucy Baker

Web design: Otis Gowens, Hillary McNabb, Tony Black, Patrick Foose