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DNA springs island man from jail

By JESSIE STENSLAND
Whidbey News Times Assistant editor
Jan 30 2009

A South Whidbey man is free from King County jail after DNA tests raised doubts about whether he tried to hire fellow inmates to kill his wife.

A judge ordered 51-year-old Anthony Billera to be released Jan. 20 after King County prosecutors dismissed a charge of solicitation to commit murder in the first degree.

Last summer, Billera was serving a year-long sentence in King County jail for the fifth conviction for violating a court order barring him from contacting his wife and son. He allegedly asked two different inmates to kill his wife, offering one man $6,000 and a motorcycle, according to court documents.

Forensic tests on a letter contradicted the inmate’s story. An inmate claimed Billera gave him a note with a message taped together from letters cut from a magazine. It read: IF YOU CAN KILL HER FOR ME I CAN GET YOU 6 AND THE BIKE I WANT HER TO BURN.Inside the letter was a cut-out of a magazine photo of a wildfire.

But tests showed that Billera’s DNA wasn’t anywhere on the note, while the other inmate’s DNA was found on sticky side of the tape.

Whidbey News Times Assistant editor Jessie Stensland can be reached at jstensland@whidbeynewstimes.com or 360.675.6611.
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