Man exonerated in rape case charged with murder

CROWN POINT, Ind. — A man exonerated by DNA evidence in a rape case after serving several years in an Illinois prison now faces a murder charge in Indiana.

Jail records show 51-year-old Marlon Pendleton is in custody at Lake County Jail, where he’s been since Dec. 19. Pendleton was arrested earlier this month for allegedly killing his 45-year-old girlfriend. Her body was found at a Hammond, Ind., home where Pendleton was living.

Pendleton made headlines in 2006 when DNA evidence cleared him of a 1992 rape conviction. He had served eight years of a 10-year prison sentence. Since then, he’s been pardoned by Gov. Rod Blagojevich and filed a lawsuit against the city of Chicago for suffering he endured during his time in jail

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