He spent almost 20 years in prison for her murder. DNA evidence eventually proved he didn't do it — and her actual killer has never been found.
Kimberly Simon, 16, was raped and murdered in Whitesboro, New York, on September 18, 1985. Steven Barnes was wrongly convicted of her murder in 1989 and spent nearly two decades in prison before DNA testing exonerated him in 2008. Her case remains unsolved.
A Walk That Never Ended
Kimberly, described by friends and family as warm and full of life, left her home in Marcy, New York, on the evening of September 18, 1985, planning to walk to Whitesboro Junior High School to meet friends for a football game. She never arrived. Her family reported her missing that night, and her body was found the next day in a wooded area near the Mohawk River. She had been beaten, sexually assaulted, and strangled.
A Wrongful Arrest
Investigators focused early on 19-year-old Steven Barnes after witnesses reported seeing a truck resembling his near where Kimberly was last seen walking. Barnes was questioned for twelve hours but released without charges at the time; other witnesses placed him at a bowling alley that evening, and his brother-in-law testified the young woman seen entering a truck that night wasn't in Barnes's vehicle. Two years later, in March 1988, Barnes was arrested and charged with rape, sodomy, and murder. He was convicted in 1989 based largely on forensic techniques later deemed unreliable — including a photographic pattern comparison and hair and soil "similarity" analyses that were never scientifically validated — along with testimony from a jailhouse informant. DNA testing available at the time was inconclusive. He was sentenced to 25 years to life.
Exoneration
In 2007, the Innocence Project took up Barnes's case and pursued advanced DNA testing unavailable at the time of his trial. The results conclusively excluded him as a source of the biological evidence recovered from the crime scene. Barnes was released on November 25, 2008, and formally exonerated in January 2009 after nearly 20 years in prison. He later received a $3.5 million settlement for his wrongful conviction, and has since worked with youth programs in Oneida County and partnered with the Innocence Project to support other wrongful conviction cases.
Reopening the Search for the Real Killer
Following Barnes's exoneration, investigators formed a multi-agency task force to re-examine the case, interviewing hundreds of people. Attention turned toward a group of individuals Kimberly was reportedly seen with the night of her murder, described by investigators as having a documented history of animal cruelty, drug use, and interest in occult practices — though none of them has ever been charged, and they remain persons of interest rather than named suspects. One woman among the group died in 1997; a second young woman who may have had knowledge of what happened died by suicide less than a month after Kimberly's murder.
Still Unsolved
Nearly 40 years later, no one has been charged in Kimberly's murder, and the case remains active with the Oneida County District Attorney's office.
Frequently Asked Questions
Was Steven Barnes guilty of Kimberly Simon's murder?
No. DNA testing conclusively excluded him, and he was fully exonerated in 2009 after serving nearly 20 years for a crime he didn't commit.
Has Kimberly Simon's actual killer ever been found?
No. Despite a renewed multi-agency investigation following Barnes's exoneration, no one has ever been charged.
What happened to Steven Barnes after his release?
He received a $3.5 million settlement for his wrongful conviction and now works with youth programs and the Innocence Project.