hristopher Ochoa was working at a Pizza Hut when he and his friend, Richard Danziger, became suspects in the 1988 murder of Nancy DePriest, a manager for another of the chain’s restaurants in Austin. Employees of the restaurant contacted police after Ochoa and Danziger were seen giving a toast in the victim’s honor. Acting on the tip, police brought Ochoa in for questioning.
Christopher Ochoa and Richard Danziger each spent twelve years in prison as a result of a long, intimidating interrogation that produced Ochoa’s false confession.
During the interrogation, Ochoa was subjected to both physical and verbal intimidation, and police officers threatened him with the death penalty unless he confessed to the crime. After two days of intense questioning and threats, Ochoa eventually gave the police what they wanted. He signed a confession written by the police and accepted the state’s offer of a life sentence. In exchange, Ochoa pled guilty to murder and testified against Danziger at trial. Danziger was convicted of aggravated sexual assault and sentenced to life in prison.
While Ochoa and Danziger were serving life sentences, a Texas inmate named Achim Josef Marino confessed to DePriest’s murder. Marino professed he alone committed the crime and provided a detailed description of the crime scene and information regarding the location of items stolen from the Pizza Hut.
DNA testing of semen collected from the crime scene conclusively proved the innocence of Ochoa and Danziger. Ochoa and Danziger both settled civil lawsuits with the City of Austin. Danziger sustained permanent brain damage as a result of a violent prison assault, rendering him unable to care for himself without help.
Because of the threatening and intimidating interrogations that led to Ochoa’s false confession, Richard Danziger and Christopher Ochoa each spent twelve years in prison for a crime they did not commit.
