Clad in sandals and a purple dress with white lace, Jennifer Ann Lewis left her Rock Island, Illinois, home to buy a pack of Juicy Fruit at Mac’s Liquor Store a few blocks away. It was shortly before 6 p.m. on Sept. 17, 1990, the last time her family saw her alive. Three hours later, a janitor at Jefferson Elementary School in Davenport, Iowa — about 3 miles west of Jennifer’s home — found her body burning near a playground.
Police arrested Stanley Liggins, a 28-year-old friend of Jennifer’s mother and stepfather, Sheri and Joe Glenn, for Jennifer’s murder. He was tried and convicted in her death, first in 1993 and again in 1995. Liggins' defense team exploited errors by police and prosecutors to win a third trial last year. It ended in September with a hung jury. A fourth trial is set to begin March 12 and time may be on Liggins' side.