Robert Lee Stinson case
Robert Lee Stinson was a Wisconsin man born in 1964 who was wrongfully charged with the rape and murder of 63-year-old Ione Cychosz. Her body was found in a vacant lot near his backyard in November 1984.
Bite-mark evidence played a key role in his conviction. A forensic dentist, Lowell T. Johnson, testified that bite marks on the body matched someone missing a front tooth—matching Stinson, who also had a missing front tooth. With this testimony, Stinson was sentenced to life in prison in December 1985, supported by another expert, Raymond Rawson.
In 2005, the Wisconsin Innocence Project began reviewing Stinson’s case and questioning the bite-mark evidence. DNA testing was reexamined and did not link Stinson to the crime.
On January 30, 2009, the prosecutor’s office overturned the conviction, and all charges were formally dropped on July 27, 2009. Stinson had spent more than 23 years in prison before his release. He later filed lawsuits against the lead investigator and the two doctors who testified about the bite marks; these cases eventually led to a civil settlement.
In 2019, Milwaukee settled Stinson’s civil rights case for $7.5 million. He had previously received smaller sums from the state and state legislation.
The case also led to new developments: Moses Price Jr. was linked to the murder by DNA and confessed in 2009. He was later charged and, in 2012, sentenced for the crime, adding to the ongoing reevaluation of who committed the murder.
Stinson’s experience helped highlight serious questions about bite-mark forensics, a field that has faced growing scrutiny and calls for reform in the justice system.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 20:49 (CET).