Life After Innocence: Ozarks man wrongly convicted of murder struggles to start life over

CHRISTIAN COUNTY, Mo. --  Unlike most young people, you won't find Zack Stewart using Facebook. In fact, he says his mom set it up for him shortly after he was released from jail. To him the internet is a constant reminder of a dark time. "I don't know if it will ever be cleared," Stewart said about his name. "You can't clear the internet."

With a quick Google search of Stewart’s name, one word will constantly pop up -- murder. "There is nothing good when your name is associated with murder," Stewart said. A jury convicted Stewart of the 2006 murder of David Dulin, 53, of Hurley.

The guilty verdict was based partially on the words of Stewart's jail cellmates at the time of his arrest. 
"Made up lies from the jailhouse snitches that had something to gain," said Stewart’s private investigator, Bob Faulk. There was no DNA evidence connecting Stewart to the murder. “I don't know where crazy ends and unreal starts but it’s somewhere around in there,” Stewart said.

For nearly four years, Stewart sat in jail or prison for a crime he didn’t commit. "You are in a little room, nothing to do and it's cold, it's pretty miserable," Stewart said. "I had enough sense to be scared most of the time."

In a May 2010 unanimous decision, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled Stewart deserved a new trial. DNA found at the crime scene possibly linked someone else to the murder. After the murder charge against Stewart was dropped in December 2010, KSPR News showed his first steps as a free man. Still Stewart struggles with what most of us consider simple tasks, including meeting new people. "I've only been out for a year -- everybody else has the last four years and the rest of their life prior," Stewart said. "The people my age from 18 to 22 is when you get a lot of good memories and I don't have any good memories of that time."

Stewart wants to work in construction or possibly as a welder, but few doors have opened for the man once charged with first-degree murder. At his current job, he hesitated to let his boss know about his past. "Like trying to find a place to rent -- people will Google your name and the first thing that happens when you Google my name it says all kinds of murder," Stewart said. "They don't want to rent to this guy and it’s the same for jobs."

Stewart's dad, Steve Stewart, says he's watched his son apply for job after job. "When you are out of the job market for four years, the first thing an employer is going to do, especially with a big company, will ask, 'Why do we have this four year gap here?'," Steve Stewart said. "'Evidently this person didn't think a thing about working for four years.' It's all the little things you don't think about." His office is filled with research on his son’s case. "Our system works if everybody does their job and in this case I don't think some people did," Stewart said.

The obvious question, of course -- is Stewart angry at the people who put his life on hold? "A little no," Stewart said. "A lot yeah." The self- described farm boy doesn’t want to get even. He says he wants life to get better.  "I've never really had a big dream. I've always liked being a farm boy. I'd like my own place, a wife, some kids, some horses, some cows," Stewart said. "I just want to be normal and I've never really had a normal life. It's not a real big dream but it kind of is for me."

It took six months from the time the Missouri Supreme Court ruled until charges were dismissed and Stewart was released.  Even after that, the man who had already fought for years to have his name officially cleared had to do it again.  A few months after he was freed, Stewart found out he was still considered a felon. He was on probation or parole for murder -- even though the charge was dismissed.  The paperwork had been filled out incorrectly when he was released.  It took several phone calls from Stewart's family and attorneys to get that fixed.

In March of last year, the Stone County prosecutor charged another man, Tim Seaman, for the murder of David Dulin. Prosecutor Matt Selby said because of Seaman's upcoming trial he could not comment on the case or Stewart. When he dropped the charge against Stewart, Selby sent a written statement to KSPR News: "I have received more information about Dulin’s death and based on all of the information currently available, I do not believe it is appropriate to continue Zackary Stewart's current prosecution.”

According to court documents, a hat collected at the crime scene had Tim Seaman's DNA on it and two years after the murder a man told investigators he bought a gun from Seaman that matched the murder weapon. Seaman's trial begins in April.