5 things to know about the case against Jeff Titus

Jeff Titus: Killer in Question chronicles the case against Jeff Titus and his wrongful conviction over two decades ago. It also follows a recent update that overturned his conviction and helped him walk out of a Michigan prison as a free man.

The state reportedly acknowledged that an Ohio serial killer may have been behind the 1990 shooting deaths of hunters Doug Estes and Jim Bennett.

Part 1 of the series airs on ID this Friday, March 3, 2023, at 9.00 pm ET. Its synopsis reads:

"Eleven years after the murders of two hunters in Kalamazoo, Mich., detectives charge suspect Jeff Titus with the crime, but one cop believes they have the wrong man."

Former Marine and police officer Titus described the moment as "a state of shock" as he walked out of Lakeland Correctional Facility in Coldwater, Michigan, further stating that he "can't wait to get out and walk in the woods."

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The case against Jeff Titus: Five quick facts to know

1) Titus was the first suspect in the 1990 killings but was soon dismissed

Jeff Titus was initially suspected in the 1990 killings of deer hunters Doug Estes and Jim Bennett in Kalamazoo County. Both men were fatally shot in the woods near Titus' property while on a hunting trip.

However, Titus was soon cleared by the first detectives after he provided an ironclad alibi that proved that he was on a hunting trip with a friend more than 27 miles away from the crime scene.

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2) A decade later, cold case detectives built a case around him

Due to insufficient leads in the Kalamazoo County killings, the case went cold over the years but was taken over by a team of cold case detectives in 2000. They reopened the unsolved case and immediately focused on Jeff Titus as the primary suspect, completely contradicting the judgment of the initial investigators.

Titus was arrested in 2001 after his co-workers at the Veterans Affairs hospital told authorities that he hated it when hunters walked across his land during the deer hunting season.

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3) Jeff Titus was subsequently found guilty and sentenced to life in prison without parole

The prosecution argued during a contentious trial that Titus had enough time to travel to and from the crime scene, making his alibi questionable.

During his trial more than a decade after the killings, his alibi witnesses could no longer support him as they had aged. The time gap between the crime and the trial also didn't help. Moreover, the first investigators in the case who had dismissed him as a suspect were not called to the witness stand.

Even though the prosecution did not contest the authenticity of Jeff Titus' alibi, he was found guilty and given two lengthy life terms in prison without the possibility of parole.

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4) Concealed evidence later revealed that an Ohio serial killer may have been behind the killings

According to reports, the sheriff's office concealed evidence that connected Thomas Dillon, a second suspect, to the Kalamazoo County shooting deaths of Doug Estes and Jim Bennett. Dillon was later convicted as a serial killer involved in the killings of many other hunters and outdoorsmen.

Dillon had previously been arrested and convicted on five counts of first-degree murder while remaining a suspect in multiple other cases. He was serving time in prison at the time of his death in 2011.

Two witnesses reportedly identified Dillon, claiming that they spotted him near the crime scene on the day of the killings. Moreover, Dillon's co-workers said he took a pistol from each of them, expressing his desire to use the weapons while hunting. The victims were shot with two separate types of firearms.

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5) Jeff Titus' conviction was overturned more than 20 years later

On February 24, 2023, Jeff Titus was finally released from prison after serving more than 20 years following a wrongful conviction for the double homicide in Kalamazoo County. He was found guilty of the killings in 2002 despite key information regarding an Ohio serial killer's possible connection being withheld throughout his contentious trial.

The case was taken up by the University of Michigan Innocence Clinic, which caused the Michigan Attorney General's Office to initiate an investigation.

The Conviction Integrity Unit (CIU) of the office then unearthed material that was never revealed to the defense during the trial, leading to a wrongful conviction.