Muncie man's '92 rape conviction to be set aside
MUNCIE, Ind. – DNA tests that show another man’s semen was on a sexual assault victim’s pants and in her body will apparently lead to a Muncie man’s release from prison after nearly a quarter century.
Then-Delaware Circuit Court 2 Judge Richard Dailey later sentenced Barnhouse to 80 years in prison.
On Wednesday, Delaware County prosecutors Jeffrey Arnold and Eric Hoffman and attorneys for the Innocence Project, which represents Barnhouse, filed a joint motion for a new trial with the current judge of Circuit Court 2, Kimberly Dowling.
That document notes “post-conviction DNA testing” conducted in 2016 had “excluded Barnhouse as the source of the sperm on the victim’s jeans” and that recovered elsewhere during a medical exam.
The attorneys in the case “agreed that the results are such that there is a reasonable probability that Mr. Barnhouse would not have been convicted if the results had been available at trial,” it added.
Prosecutors “believe it is in the best interest of justice to vacate the defendant’s convictions... and for the court to order a new trial.”
That doesn’t necessarily mean Barnhouse will stand trial for a second time, however.
“Jeff and I will have to review the evidence in the case and then make that decision,” Hoffman said Wednesday. “We hope to have a decision whether to retry or dismiss within a month or so.”
Court records reflect the Innocence Project – a non-profit organization that has exonerated more than 300 convicted felons through DNA results – first inquired about evidence in Barnhouse’s case in 2009.
Negotiations with Delaware County prosecutors led to a January 2016 agreement allowing for the DNA testing.
Hoffman said at an upcoming hearing, Judge Dowling would likely make a decision on where Barnhouse would stay pending final resolution of the case.
Records in the 1992 case reflect the Muncie man had a long history of mental illness.
Barnhouse – who had faced earlier allegations of sexual assaults – was accused of attacking the victim behind a vacant building near downtown Muncie on April 21, 1992.
The woman identified the Muncie man as her attacker after he was apprehended nearby.
Barnhouse is now incarcerated at the New Castle Correctional Facility. Before this week’s events, he had a scheduled release date in September 2032.
Contact news reporter Douglas Walker at (765) 213-5851. Follow him on Twitter: @DouglasWalkerSP.