Crime Junkie listeners helped pave the way to prove the exoneration of a convicted man
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) – A College Station couple tuned into an episode of the podcast “Crime Junkie,” little did they know they would become part of the case themselves.
Michael and Harlee Gerke were on a road trip listening to the episode covering James Reyos, the man convicted for the murder of a Catholic priest, Father Patrick Ryan, in 1983.
The priest was murdered in a motel in Odessa Texas and Reyos was the last known person to come into contact with him.
As the couple listened to the podcast, they noticed something wasn’t right.
“None of the evidence points towards him and it was just very obvious to us that he did not do it,” said Harlee.
That is when the couple took matters into their own hands and approached Michael’s dad, the Police Chief in Odessa.
After some investigation, he believed, “Wow, we should just be halfway through this case. There’s not enough here. There’s not enough here that I felt to support a conviction.”
As the investigation team looked into the case, evidence showed Reyos was not at the scene of the crime.
“At this point, throughout our investigation, we could not place Mr. Reyos in that room where the crime happened and we could not really place him in Odessa,” said Police Chief, Michael Gerke.
That is when he got involved with the Texas Ector County District Attorney’s Office which then contacted the Innocence Project of Texas.
After numerous hearings and 40 years, Reyos was a free man.
“You never think that you’re gonna listen to that case and it’s gonna be you that does it. But in this case, just this one time, it was us. We never in our wildest dreams thought this would happen,” said Harlee.
“I just hope he can take the rest of his life and live it to the fullest and be able to do all the things that he has wanted to do over the years,” said Michael.
The couple thanks Crime Junkie, Odessa Police Department, and the Innocent Project of Texas for all the work they put into this case to prove James’ innocence.
