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MINNESOTA - A father who served nearly three decades in jail has been freed after a woman who was considered a star witness in his trial admitted that she committed the crime in a chilling hand-written letter.
Brian Hooper Sr., who spent more than 27 years behind bars for the murder of Ann Prazniak, 77, was exonerated and released from Minnesota's Stillwater Correctional Facility on Thursday after Chalaka Young came forward, confessing she killed the elderly woman.
Hooper, now 54, was found guilty of killing Prazniak in 1998 and sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 30 years.
The former inmate, who has always maintained his innocence, finally became a free man after Young said she was the murderer in a letter that came to light on July 29.
'I am not okay any longer with an innocent man sitting in prison for a crime he did not commit,' wrote Young, who said she came forward due to her sobriety and newfound faith.
Young, who penned the letter while serving 10 years in a Georgia prison for battery, further told authorities she fabricated a story about Hooper and decided to 'stick with' it at his trial.
Following his release, Hooper's daughter Briana Hooper, detailed how happy she was to be reunited with her father after growing up without him all this time.
'My father Bryan Hooper Sr. is an innocent man and he’s always been an innocent man,' Brianna said.
https://nypost.com/2025/09/05/us-news/w ... to-murder/
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... urder.html