William L. Riley is accused of swinging a machete at a man s head twice, causing two defensive wounds on the man s arm, and striking the man in the knee with
CROWN POINT â A judge denied a petition for post-conviction relief Monday for a man serving a 300-year prison sentence for the murders of five people in Gary in 2000 he now says he didn t commit.
New evidence introduced during several hearings last year for Cleveland C. Bynum, 42, was not credible and likely could not be reproduced if a new trial were to be granted, Lake Criminal Court Judge Natalie Bokota wrote.
Bynum confessed in February 2000 to three of the five homicides and gave a conflicting statement about the remaining two homicides, according to court records. He was convicted by a jury in 2001 of all five murders and sentenced to five consecutive 60-year sentences.