A Death in the Family is the story of William Mullins-Johnson, his wrongful first-degree murder conviction and how that guilty verdict shattered his family.

In Sault Ste Marie, Ontario, on June 27th, 1993, four-year-old Valin Johnson was found dead in her bed. She had been sick overnight and her family thought she had died after choking on her vomit. Within 12 hours, however, her favorite uncle, Bill Mullins-Johnson, would be arrested for the rape and murder of the little girl.

The autopsy that helped lead to his arrest was performed by a local pathologist, Dr. Bhubendra Rasaiah. He estimated Valin died between 8:00 and 10:00 PM, on the evening that Bill was babysitting her. He noted bruises on her thighs and vagina. Dr. Rasaiah concluded Valin had suffered death by asphyxia. Police present at the autopsy recorded, “Death is a result of suffocation. Force applied to upper chest area.” And “very suspicious – not natural.”

Mullins-Johnson was charged and tried for first-degree murder. Pathologists testified that Valin had been sexually abused both chronically and at the time of her death. They proffered in graphic detail, the possible circumstances of her death. A jury found Bill guilty and he was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole for 25 years.

With little hope after two failed court appeals, Mullins-Johnson sent his case to the Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted. They agreed to look into it and eleven years to the day after his conviction, Bill was released on bail awaiting a new hearing. Two years later, on October 15, 2007 Bill was acquitted. Crucial pathology evidence given at his original trial was flawed. One of the pathologists that testified was Dr. Charles Smith who would soon become the focus of a public inquiry. Bill’s name was added to the list of victims of Dr. Smith’s substandard work.

Ontario Chief Pathologist Dr. Michael S. Pollanen reexamined the pathology in 2005 and found that there was absolutely no evidence to show Valin had been abused or murdered. However, twelve years after her death, it was too late to pin down the actual cause.

But, the damage done wasn’t isolated to Bill losing his freedom. His family had been torn apart. Bill and his closest brother, and Valin’s father, Paul, had turned on each other. Once the 1994 guilty verdict was read, Bill’s brother believed Bill had murdered Valin. And Bill, sitting in prison knowing he had done nothing wrong, began to believe his brother had done it and let Bill take the fall.

In A Death in the Family, Bill, his brother and their family share what it’s like to be torn apart by suspicion and hatred for more than a decade, and to discover one day that it was all a mistake. For the first time, the family makes public the story of their suffering as victims of the judicial system.