A California man who spent 39 years in prison after being wrongly convicted of murder is to receive $21million (£16 million) compensation.

Craig Coley was jailed for the murder of Rhonda Wicht, 24, and her son Donald, aged four, in 1978.

Mr Coley, who is now 71, was freed and pardoned by California's governor, Jerry Brown, after he was cleared by DNA evidence during a lengthy reinvestigation of the case.

A Vietnam veteran and night manager at a local restaurant, Mr Coley had been involved in a relationship with Ms Wicht which had broken down. She was strangled with a rope and her son had been smothered in his bed.

His conviction was partly due to the testimony of Ms Wicht's next door neighbour who told the jury she heard banging. She also said she saw Mr Coley's truck parked outside the building and that somebody apparently matching his description drove it away.