Riddick, in his petition, wrote that he had heard from his family in early 1999 that Stevenson wanted to recant and that his family then hired a private investigator to obtain Stevenson's affidavit. But Riddick says he believes the investigator never turned the affidavit over to him because of a financial dispute. It wasn't until a Jan. 28, 2003, letter from another source that Riddick learned the affidavit actually existed, and it was a few days later when he received it.