the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Mahwah Nj, after nearly 25 years behind bars for a murder they didn’t commit, two brothers from Mahwah, New Jersey, are now free. Their release is thanks to the cutting-edge work of seven students at the Investigative Genetic Genealogy (IGG) Center at Ramapo College of New Jersey, who cracked open the case in just two days.
A Murder, A False Confession, and A Wrongful Conviction
The story dates back to August 4, 1987, when Sandra Lison’s body was discovered 30 miles away from the Green Bay, Wisconsin bar where she had worked the night before. Investigators spent over a decade searching for the man Lison was last seen with, but the trail went cold.
In 1998, while incarcerated for an unrelated crime, David Bintz became a suspect in Lison’s murder after his cellmate, Gary Swendby, claimed Bintz had confessed to the crime in his sleep. Under interrogation, Bintz confessed and implicated his brother, Robert. Despite having no forensic evidence linking them to the murder, the Bintz brothers were convicted in 2000 and sentenced to life in prison for first-degree murder.
A New Hope Through Investigative Genetic Genealogy
In 2019, the Great North Innocence Project (GNIP) took on the Bintz case, working to overturn their wrongful convictions. Despite initial efforts with an IGG lab, no new leads were found. But in 2023, GNIP reached out to the Investigative Genetic Genealogy Center at Ramapo College for help.
In just two days, a team of six students, led by IGG Center staff, uncovered a crucial lead. This breakthrough led to the exhumation of William Hendricks’ body in May 2024. DNA samples from Hendricks confirmed he was responsible for Sandra Lison’s murder.
In August 2024, the State of Wisconsin reopened the case, and by September 24, the state confirmed Hendricks as the murderer and agreed to exonerate the Bintz brothers. A day later, a judge ordered their release.
Investigative Genetic Genealogy: A Game-Changer for Justice
The Bintz brothers’ exoneration marks only the third time that investigative genetic genealogy has directly led to the release of wrongfully convicted individuals. This powerful tool, which gained attention after helping catch the notorious Golden State Killer, has revolutionized how law enforcement and legal advocates solve cold cases and overturn wrongful convictions.
David Gurney, JD, PhD, assistant professor of law & society and director of the IGG Center at Ramapo College, founded the center to bring IGG technology to more cases like the Bintz brothers’. “My hope is that the incredible story of justice provided for the Bintz brothers will spur the innocence community to pursue IGG in more cases. The IGG Center’s doors are always open,” Gurney said.
The Ramapo College IGG Center is currently working on 53 active cases, with leads in 16 cases so far. While most cases are from New Jersey, the center provides pro bono services to help fight wrongful convictions across the United States, including states like California, Arizona, and Wisconsin.
This case, and others like it, highlight the transformative potential of investigative genetic genealogy in achieving justice for those wrongfully convicted, offering a beacon of hope for many others still fighting to prove their innocence.
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Everyone who claims to be wrongfully convicted deserves to be tested for DNA.
If they use and lose, then they deserve life for gaming the system