A Michigan man who served almost 21 years behind bars for the 1990 killings of two hunters has reached a $5.25 million settlement agreement after claiming law enforcement withheld crucial evidence that could have aided his defense, his attorney announced Monday.
Jeff Titus walked free in 2023 when his murder convictions were dismissed following a prosecutor’s request. The Innocence Clinic at University of Michigan law school and two investigators successfully convinced officials that an Ohio serial killer may have actually committed the 1990 hunter murders.
Titus had consistently maintained his innocence throughout his imprisonment.
“It’s been a long road for Jeff,” attorney Wolf Mueller said. “He’s 74. He lost two decades of his life. The money doesn’t make up for the loss of decades, but it allows him to put this part of his life behind him.”
Attempts to reach the attorney representing a retired homicide detective named in the lawsuit were unsuccessful.
Doug Estes and Jim Bennett were shot and killed near Titus’ Kalamazoo County property in 1990. While Titus was initially ruled out as a suspect, murder charges were brought against him 12 years later. Prosecutors painted Titus as someone with a temper who was hostile toward trespassers.
University of Michigan law school students and faculty were working to secure a new trial when investigators uncovered a 30-page file from the original case at the county sheriff’s office. The discovery proved significant: it mentioned Thomas Dillon of Magnolia, Ohio, as an alternative suspect.
Jacinda Davis from the TV network Investigation Discovery and Susan Simpson from the “Undisclosed” podcast had questioned Titus’ guilt and explored Dillon’s potential involvement.
Dillon passed away in prison in 2011. He was taken into custody in 1993 and eventually admitted guilt in the deaths of five Ohio residents who were hunting, fishing or jogging.
Monday’s settled lawsuit did not focus on Dillon as an alternative perpetrator. Instead, law enforcement was accused of denying Titus his constitutional rights by withholding information that could have undermined a crucial witness’s trial testimony, Mueller explained.
