Donna Branion
Real Name: Donna Branion
Nicknames: No known nicknames
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Date: December 22, 1967
Case
Details: Dr. John Branion was a practicing physician in Chicago in the 1960s, but one day in 1967, he came home to find his house in disarray and his wife Donna murdered by persons unknown. The police didn't look far for an answer to the case; they questioned and connected Branion to the murder of his wife despite physical evidence to the contrary, due to his changing story and a mistress named Shirley, who was brought up as a motive and who, in fact, he did subsequently marry. Branion has been swearing to his innocence ever since. In 1971, he fled the country after it appeared his appeal would not be successful. In 1983, he was arrested in Uganda after Idi Amin's fall and sent back to the United States. He continues to claim that he had nothing to do with his wife's death, and that it was impossible for him to commit the murder due to the time frame.
Suspects: None known
Extra Notes: The case was featured as a part of the December 20, 1989 episode.
Results: Unresolved. Branion was subsequently released from prison in August 1990 on clemency from a judge who reviewed his case, but sadly, he passed away a month later due to a tumor and heart ailment. His wife's actual killers were never identified. However, some have suggested that Dr. Branion may have hired someone to murder his wife, which would match with why the time frame doesn't fit. However, the case remains open.
Links: None