Man serving life in '88 murder to be released after DNA evidence

PITTSBURGH - A man serving a life term for a murder conviction will be set free because DNA tests show that hairs from the killer's mask and hat did not come from him, a defense attorney said.

Drew Whitley, 50, was convicted of second-degree murder in 1989 in the killing of Noreen Malloy, a 22-year-old McDonald's restaurant manager who was shot to death outside the restaurant in Duquesne, near Kennywood Park, in August 1988.

On Tuesday, prosecutors got the results of DNA tests showing that hairs found on the killer's fedora hat could not have been Whitley's, defense attorney Scott Coffey said. Last month, DNA tests indicated hairs found inside a stocking mask worn by the killer also did not belong to Whitley, Coffey said.

The tests indicated the hairs belonged to one person, but that person was not Whitley, Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. said.

"The stocking is one thing. That hair could have been from a woman's leg," Zappala said. "But when you got the hat and stocking and it comes back it's the same person and you know it's not Whitley, that's pretty strong evidence he did not commit the crime."

Zappala said Tuesday that he had asked that the life sentence be vacated.

Whitley has been jailed since his arrest soon after the shooting, Coffey said.

On Monday, Whitley will appear in county court, where prosecutors are expected to withdraw the charges against him and announce that he will not be retried, Coffey said.

"I am shocked," Coffey said. "I didn't think things were going to proceed this fast. I thought the DA was going to appeal this case. I am thrilled with the results. I am thrilled he is going home."

Coffey said he could not get in touch with Whitley when he called the state prison in Greensburg. "I asked that he be relayed the message as soon as possible," Coffey said.

Whitley always maintained his innocence, Coffey said.

Soon after the shooting, a witness identified Whitley based on the shape of his face and his walk. At the trial, a crime lab technician said 41 hairs found in the stocking mask resembled Whitley's hair. DNA testing was not available at the time.

Police recovered a bloodstained coat, hat and shoes, and the mask was found in a parking lot nearby. Blood on the shoes matched Whitley's blood type, but the shoes were destroyed in a 1996 flood that wiped out much of the county police evidence room.

County Judge Walter Little first ordered DNA testing on two rooted hairs in 1995, but authorities learned that the hairs had been damaged during testing two years earlier. The remaining 39 hairs - the longest of which was two millimeters - were thought to have been destroyed or lost.

In July, however, Zappala announced that the hairs had been found in storage. Coffey then requested more DNA tests and Little agreed.