WACO (June 6, 2009)—Central Texas attorney Walter (Skip) Reaves says his client Ed Graf didn't murder his two stepsons back in 1986 and says the evidence used to convict Graf two decades ago actually should exonerate him.

Graf was convicted of capital murder in 1988 in the arson deaths of his stepsons after a McLennan County jury found that he set fire to a backyard shed inside of which the two boys were locked.

Investigators and experts for the prosecution told the jury that certain patterns found on the floor of the shed could only mean the fire was set with an accelerant.

But recent findings by arson experts may indicate other causes, and Reaves thinks they could lead to a different verdict.

The Deadly August 26, 1986 Fire

Graf and the two boys were the only people at home on Angel Fire Drive in Hewitt on the day of the fire in August 1986.

Graf had picked the boys up from daycare and arrived home around 5 p.m.

Just 10 minutes later the boys were dead.

An Appropriate Conviction?

Former McLennan County District Attorney Vic Feazell maintains there's no that doubt Graf set the fire that killed the boys and that the conviction in 1988 was appropriate.

Reaves however is asking for a new trial for Graf, who’s held at the Alfred D. Hughes Unit, in nearby Gatesville where he’s serving a life sentence.

Case Study

Graf's conviction is among between 25 and 50 nationwide involved in a study conducted by New York-based John Jay College, that says that because arson investigations prior to 2005 were flawed, many people convicted of arson murder prior to 2005 could have been wrongly convicted.

It's high science that has to do with burn patterns and findings of the use of accelerants based upon those patterns.

Reaves says he's going to file a motion seeking a new trial so the updates in evidence can be heard.

"It is true that science knows a lot more about fires than was known back then," Feazell said.

"It was other evidence that led to the jury's decision," he said.

Feazell said his investigators accumulated an incredible amount of circumstantial evidence that pointed to Graf's guilt, including insurance policies bought on the 8- and 9-year-old boys within weeks of their deaths.

Feazell, now a private practice lawyer in Waco and Austin, remembers the prosecution in detail.

"There was a lot of evidence that we presented and the jury considered it and found Mr. Graf guilty," Feazell told News 10.

Reaves' contention, however, is that the boys themselves started the fire inside the shed.

He thinks the door was open and the flames were so intense the boys were unable to escape.

A neighbor has told Reaves he saw the doors open at the time of the deadly fire.

Hewitt police had the burned-out shed bulldozed the night of the fire to prevent the boys' mother from having to see its remains when she awoke the next morning and as a result some vital evidence could have been destroyed.

Feazell sent investigators to the city dump to recover the door and frame from the shed.

Feazell says he clearly remembers the door latch was closed from the outside; something the boys could not have done from inside the shed.

"The latch was closed and that door and pictures of that door with the latch closed were entered into evidence at trial," Feazell said.

"Those boys could not have closed that latch on the outside of the door from inside the shed," he said.

But even if the trial court had barred introduction of the fire evidence, Feazell says the outcome would have been the same.

"He was an extremely meticulous man and he kept detailed records of events and completed tasks on a close schedule, yet he failed to attend to things regarding those boys in the days before their deaths. I believe because he knew they wouldn't be around much longer," Feazell said.

As to the evidence, Feazell believes the original trial transcript will erase any hope Graf has of a new trial.

"I don't believe Mr. Graf will get a new trial because I truly believe in my heart he killed those boys, but I think the process is good," Feazell said.

"But I think it's good for Reaves to be looking into this because any time we revisit evidence and criminal prosecution issues, it just makes our justice system stronger," Feazell said.

Reaves could not say when he might file a new motion for trial, but said he is hopeful he’ll be able to gather enough evidence to make the request.