New forensic testing suggests two men serving life sentences for a 1994 rape and murder in Chicago were wrongfully convicted because DNA from the victim's underwear is linked to a serial rapist, a petition filed Monday in Cook County court alleges.

The DNA from the underwear matches the serial rapist, who is not named in the filing, with "almost scientific certainty," the filing states. DNA found under the victim's fingernails and on her sweatshirt does not match the men serving time for the crime, but the serial rapist could not be excluded as the source of that DNA, the petition said.

The Cook County state's attorney's office said it is doing an "intense review and investigation" into the case and is awaiting more DNA results.

A jury convicted Nevest Coleman and Darryl Fulton in the April 1994 rape and murder of Antwinica Bridgeman about three years after the crime.

At the time of the slaying, Coleman worked as a respected, well-liked member of the groundskeeping crew at Comiskey Park, court records show. Fulton lived near Coleman in Englewood.

Bridgeman had just celebrated her 20th birthday at a small gathering with friends attended by Coleman. She disappeared that night and was discovered weeks later in Coleman's basement.

Illinois Department of Corrections Nevest Coleman, left, and Darryl Fulton were convicted in the April 1994 rape and murder of Antwinica Bridgeman. A petition filed in Cook County court alleges that the two were wrongfully convicted of the crimes. Nevest Coleman, left, and Darryl Fulton were convicted in the April 1994 rape and murder of Antwinica Bridgeman. A petition filed in Cook County court alleges that the two were wrongfully convicted of the crimes. (Illinois Department of Corrections) (Illinois Department of Corrections)

Coleman and a friend found Bridgeman's body with a piece of concrete in her mouth and a pipe in her vagina.

Both Coleman, 25, and Fulton, 27, gave police confessions implicating themselves and another man in the crime. The two later said their confessions were coerced, and the third man would not give a statement after denying any involvement. Prosecutors dropped the charges against the third man.

Coleman's attorney Russell Ainsworth, with the Exoneration Project at the University of Chicago Law School, filed a motion Monday to temporarily vacate Coleman's sentence and have him released on bond pending the state's reinvestigation of the case. It also seeks to eventually have Coleman's conviction vacated.

Ainsworth's motion states that the "sole evidence" against Coleman was the confession, and his background did not fit with a rapist and murderer.

Coleman had no criminal history before Bridgeman's killing.

Judge Dennis Porter heard the original case in 1997 and also considered Ainsworth's argument on Monday. He delayed a ruling until Aug. 18 while prosecutors file a written argument against Ainsworth's motion.

Mark Rotert, head of the Cook County State's Attorney's Conviction Integrity Unit, told the judge "we're not there yet" regarding vacating the sentence, and asked for more time.

More DNA testing is being done, and it could take months to sort out, Ainsworth said.

Fulton is represented by Kathleen Zellner, a Downers Grove attorney who has handled numerous wrongful conviction cases.

Nicholas Curran, one of Zellner's associates, attended Monday's hearing and said he is in favor of giving prosecutors more time.

Coleman will be transported from prison to attend the next hearing.

Ainsworth's motion details forensic reports that, he says, clear his client and Fulton.

A forensic report dated May 31 of this year notes Coleman, Fulton, the third man and Bridgeman's boyfriend were all excluded as the source of semen collected from the victim's underwear, the filing alleges.

A July 21 forensic report notes Coleman, Fulton, the third man and Bridgeman's boyfriend were also excluded as the source of semen collected from the victim's sweatshirt, but that stain could not exclude the serial rapist, the filing states.

Coleman also "testified that his confession was the product of coercion and false promises," the filing alleges.

Detectives involved with the case have subsequently seen some of their cases fall apart by DNA testing, the filing said.

The recent DNA testing blows a hole through the government's theory of what happened in this crime, Ainsworth said.

For Coleman and Fulton to have raped and murdered Bridgeman, the filing notes, "the victim would have to had consensual sex with a serial rapist (who was not her boyfriend), sex that left his semen on her underwear and sweatshirt, and then Mr. Coleman, Mr. Fulton and (the third man) subsequently raped the victim without leaving any of their DNA on her underwear, sweatshirt or fingernails."

After the hearing, a spokeswoman for State's Attorney Kim Foxx released a statement saying the case "remains the subject of an intense review and investigation by the Cook County State's Attorney's Office Conviction Integrity Unit."

Prosecutors are awaiting additional DNA results and have asked for an expedited examination from the laboratory. They "will continue to approach the investigation of Mr. Coleman and Mr. Fulton's convictions with urgency, and remain in contact with their counsel as the investigation proceeds," officials said.

Coleman's relatives filled a bench in the courtroom during Monday's hearing. Coleman's brother, Micquel, was in court alongside their sister Jennice. Micquel said he'll host Nevest at his Evanston home if he's freed.

Nevest Coleman has maintained his innocence since day one, his siblings noted. The family became emotional while listing the events he's missed while locked up, including the death of his parents.

"We just want him out," Jennice Coleman said.

Coleman's two children, Chanequa and Nicholas, who are 25 and 23, also came to support their father. The children described Coleman as an attentive dad even behind bars, asking about what's going on in their lives and offering advice.

"I feel like he's here, but he's not," Nicholas Coleman said.

gpratt@chicagotribune.com

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