SANTA ANA, Calif. — New DNA testing has cleared a man who spent nearly 40 years in prison for the 1984 murder of a Santa Ana nanny, according to his lawyers. They are now urging the Orange County District Attorney to declare Kenneth Clair legally innocent—something Clair has maintained from the beginning.
Clair, now in his 60s, was originally sentenced to death for the killing of 25-year-old Linda Rodgers. In a letter sent June 2 to District Attorney Todd Spitzer, Clair’s legal team called for an immediate review of the case, citing forensic evidence they argue definitively exonerates him.
The case has long raised serious concerns about wrongful convictions, systemic bias and the dangers of relying on circumstantial or uncorroborated evidence. This latest development could mark a turning point.
Rodgers was found brutally murdered in the master bedroom of the home where she worked as a live-in nanny. She had been stabbed, strangled and bludgeoned. Five children, including the child she was caring for, were asleep in another room. Clair, then 25, lived next door in an abandoned house. He had recently been released from custody after allegedly breaking into the same residence. After Rodgers’ body was discovered, suspicion quickly turned to him.
A key element in the prosecution’s case was testimony from Clair’s former girlfriend, who claimed Clair had shown her items stolen from the home. She later wore a wire and recorded a conversation in which Clair made ambiguous comments about the murder, but did not confess. Despite no physical evidence linking Clair to the crime scene, he was convicted and sentenced to death.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the death sentence in 2016, finding that Clair’s defense attorney failed to present key information about Clair’s traumatic background, including repeated sexual abuse while incarcerated as a youth for a nonviolent offense. However, the murder conviction remained in place. Clair was resentenced in 2020 to life without the possibility of parole. Judge Sheila Hanson, who presided over the resentencing, said she believed Clair still posed a public safety risk. Rodgers’ daughter described the murder as exhibiting a “high degree of cruelty and viciousness,” and said Clair had never shown remorse or taken responsibility.
In 2023, Judge Hanson granted a request by Clair’s defense to re-test forensic evidence using modern DNA methods that weren’t available during the original trial. The DA’s office did not oppose the request, and testing was quickly carried out by the county crime lab and other experts. The results were striking.
None of the DNA recovered from Rodgers’ body or the objects used in the killing matched Clair. According to defense attorney Michael Mortenson, no blood, hair, fingerprints or other physical evidence linked Clair to the murder.
Instead, DNA from two unknown individuals was discovered on key items. One person’s DNA was found on a glove resting on Rodgers’ foot, the sleeves of a T-shirt used to bind her, a chrome bar believed to be used in the assault, and other parts of her body and clothing. Another person’s DNA was found on a cigarette butt recovered from the waterbed where Rodgers was killed, as well as on the fly of her pants.
Adding to the doubt surrounding Clair’s conviction, a child who witnessed the crime told police at the time that the attacker was white. Clair is Black, raising further questions about the accuracy of the original investigation.
In their letter to the DA, Clair’s attorneys urged action based on the newly available scientific evidence. “Nearly 40 years have passed since Mr. Clair was convicted of a murder he did not commit,” Mortenson wrote. “The evidence now confirms what he has said all along—he did not do it.”
The district attorney’s office has not addressed the DNA findings directly. Spokesperson Kimberly Edds said the office remains committed to evaluating claims of wrongful conviction through its conviction integrity process. “We believe in our cases and our convictions,” she said. “The responsibility of a prosecutor is immense, and it is a responsibility we take extremely seriously.”
Mortenson expressed frustration at the lack of a clear response. “Everyone right now should be on the same side,” he said. “And that is the side of justice for both the victim and the person who has been wrongfully convicted.”
Clair has indicated he will not settle the matter quietly. “It is all or nothing,” Mortenson said. “Either he dies in prison an innocent man and the world knows he is innocent, or the DA agrees to drop all charges, or we litigate and go to a new trial.”
If prosecutors do not move to vacate the conviction, Clair’s legal team is preparing to seek a new trial based on the DNA evidence.
As more wrongful convictions are uncovered nationwide, Clair’s case underscores what is at stake—not just freedom, but truth, dignity, and recognition. For Clair, it’s about finally being seen for who he says he has always been: an innocent man, now with the science to prove it.
