Maurice Hastings, Exonerated After 38 Years Behind Bars, Sues Inglewood Police Officers and LADA Investigator For Wrongful Conviction

Clear Signs Pointing to the Real Perpetrator Were Ignored by Police, Lawsuit Charges

(LOS ANGELES, CA) National civil rights law firm Neufeld Scheck Brustin Hoffmann & Freudenberger, LLP (NSBHF) today filed a wrongful conviction lawsuit on behalf of Maurice Hastings, who served 38 years in prison for a murder he did not commit. Earlier this year, a court ruled Mr. Hastings, 70, “factually innocent” after DNA evidence pointed to the real perpetrator.

Emma Freudenberger, a partner with NSBHF, called Mr. Hastings’ case “a stunning example of the some of the worst consequences that can result from intentional police misconduct.” She added: “We look forward to exposing the breadth and scope of the wrongdoing that caused Maurice’s wrongful conviction and failed to protect the real perpetrator’s other victims.”

The lawsuit seeks damages for Mr. Hastings’ 38 years of wrongful incarceration for the 1983 carjacking, rape, and murder of Roberta Wydermyer and attempted murder of her husband Billy Wydermyer and his friend George Pinson. Mr. Hastings had nothing to do with the crimes and has always maintained his innocence. He repeatedly sought DNA testing of a rape kit collected from Roberta Wydermyer to prove his innocence, and for decades the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office resisted these requests. Ultimately Mr. Hastings sought the help of attorneys at the Los Angeles Innocence Project in this effort. It wasn’t until 2022 that DNA testing was performed, and he was excluded as the perpetrator. The real perpetrator was identified as Kenneth Packnett, a convicted sex offender who died in prison in 2020.

“I look forward to holding accountable the people who destroyed my life and to bringing the truth to light,” said Mr. Hastings. He pointed out that the problem extends far beyond his own case: “This isn’t the first time someone has been wrongfully convicted. DNA evidence finally exonerated me, but that’s not available in every case.”

The complaint names Inglewood Police Department Officers Grant Price and Russell Enyeart and the Los Angeles District Attorney Investigator George Clark (now deceased) as defendants. It details how they fabricated a case against Mr. Hastings, while ignoring the overwhelming indications that Packnett was responsible. In fact, the Inglewood Police Department arrested Packnett for car thefts just two weeks after Roberta Wydermyer’s carjacking, rape, and murder, and released him from custody without charges. Further, while the case was under investigation, they learned that Packnett had been arrested for kidnapping his ex-girlfriend and imprisoning her in the trunk of his car in a manner remarkably similar to Roberta Wydermyer’s carjacking. At the same time, investigators fabricated evidence against Mr. Hastings by tampering with eyewitness descriptions, falsely asserting that Mr. Hastings had a gun at the same type as the murder weapon (which was never found) and withholding exculpatory hair evidence.

Despite the shocking evidence that Inglewood Police Department intentionally built a false case against Mr. Hastings and failed to pursue the real perpetrator, who went on to commit more horrific sexual assaults, they nevertheless rejected Mr. Hastings’ invitation to discuss a settlement to avoid litigation. This lawsuit now follows. Mr. Hastings brings claims under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution, including, respectively, his right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures and his right not to be deprived of liberty without due process of law.

Nick Brustin, Emma Freudenberger, Christina Matthias, and Gerardo Romo of Neufeld Scheck Brustin Hoffmann & Freudenberger, LLP, along with Hannah Brown of Cotchett Pitre & McCarthy, LLP, are representing Mr. Hastings. The lawsuit, captioned Hastings v. Price, et al., CASE NO: 2:23-CV-09684, was filed in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. The complaint is available here.

Read this Newsweek op-ed by Maurice Hastings about his journey for justice.