Late last year, DNA evidence from a 23-year-old murder in Beatrice shocked Nebraska by what it failed to find: a match with any of the six people convicted of the crime.

Forensic tests unavailable when Helen Wilson was raped and suffocated in 1985 unraveled a legendary investigation, reversed six convictions and released three people still serving prison time - including one for life.

Then the very tests that exonerated them helped authorities identify the true killer.

Nebraska joined 33 states where 227 imprisoned people have been declared innocent by DNA tests.

Yet how could six people be convicted of a crime authorities now say they did not commit? How could they testify under oath to their roles - testimony they later recanted?

To find out, the Journal Star examined the entire Wilson case file: original police reports, videotaped interrogations, court documents and trial transcripts - a trove exceeding 5,000 pages and hours of recordings. Reporters followed up with dozens of interviews of the main players.

The inescapable conclusion: A series of errors led to the convictions. Actions by law enforcement investigators, the prosecutor, some defense attorneys and the defendants themselves all played a part.

"What happened here is the perfect storm of professional incompetence," said Steven Drizin, legal director for the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University in Chicago.

Problems uncovered by the Journal Star examination:

* Key details from a confidential informant could not have been true, yet her statement set a course for the investigation that put six people in prison for a combined 70 years.

* The lead investigator, eager to solve a horrific cold case, hounded his top suspect and either missed or ignored evidence that supported the suspect's innocence.

* A psychologist who held a dual role as both a sheriff's deputy and a mental health counselor provided therapy for two of the suspects before they were arrested and then met with five as a deputy. Such a role violates professional psychology standards, others say.

* At a moment when police had the real killer within their grasp, a lab technician made an error on a blood test that threw investigators off the trail.

* Interrogation videos and transcripts generally show suspects had no initial memory or knowledge of the crime. Investigators showed suspects the crime scene video and photos and they mentioned other confidential details in the interrogations, essentially shaping how the story of the crime would emerge.

* The former Gage County attorney used plea bargains and the threat of capital punishment to turn defendants against each other. Yet their eventual testimony was deeply at odds with crime scene evidence.

* Three of the six suspects confessed and implicated their co-defendants. Now, they say they lied to escape the death penalty or long prison terms.

The rape and suffocation of Helen Wilson devastated a family and shook a blue-collar community of 12,900. Most who knew about the case thought for nearly two decades justice had been served.

In fact, some continue to believe the six were involved in the murder.

But one of the six always maintained he had been denied justice. He defied the power of the state.

He was right.

Reach Joe Duggan at 473-7239 or jduggan@journalstar.com.