her own child," Tillman says.

Goodrow and Carlow were a perfect fit for the Innocence Project. "Karen has always had an incredible skill set for post-conviction," says Carlow, now the state's deputy chief public defender. "I had done a lot of DNA work and dealt with the forensics."

Tillman's case hinged on misidentification by the victim, who had been carjacked in a parking lot outside a Hartford bar, beaten, raped and robbed. She picked Tillman out of a police photo lineup and also identified him during the trial as the man who attacked her.

A forensic analyst testified at the trial that blood serum testing of semen on the victim's dress could have come from Tillman, as well as about 20 percent of the male population. Sophisticated DNA testing techniques wereGoodrow discovered that Greater Hartford Legal Aid handled the case for a period of time. When she called their office, the legal aid contact confirmed that they had a box marked "Tillman," but said it was probably nothing she wanted. Goodrow thought it might provide another clue to the missing evidence and talked Carlow into going with her to pick up the box on a Friday afternoon.

When the two attorneys opened the box at the legal aid office, they found a mailing envelope inside. It had the return address of a New York DNA testing facility. "The envelope was old and it had a hole in it," says Carlow. "We could see that the material inside was black." The attorneys knew that the victim's pantyhose and dress were