Deadly Ride

After 30 Years, A Suspect Is Charged In Coed's Murder

(CBS) 
At his sentencing, Leiterman spoke out in court for the first time and expressed sympathy for the Mixers. “It was probably an awful time in their lives back in 1969 to know that they lost their daughter and their sister. She appeared to be a lovely young lady,” he said in court.

But he also steadfastly denied having anything to do with Jane’s murder. “But, I also want to say that I’m innocent of this crime," he said.

Under Michigan law, his sentence is mandatory: life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Even with his fate now sealed, Leiterman still finds it hard to accept the jury’s verdict. “I wish I could say benevolent things about them, about the decision they made. But I simply have to deal with it and move on.”

Leiterman says he hasn’t accepted the verdict and is fighting it.

It will be an uphill battle but Leiterman’s new attorney, Mark Satawa, feels he has a shot. “The fact that there is not just some biological material but a blood drop from a person who was four years old at the time, I think calls into question the entire reliability of the testing in this case.”

Meanwhile, prosecutor Steve Hiller believes justice was served. "Gary Leiterman deserves to pay the price for what he has done. And he’ll do that."

And Maggie Nelson, after a long journey, may have found some peace.

Her search for answers has finally brought Jane Mixer home. “The horror of Jane’s death made her a forgotten person because it was too hard, via fear and via grief, to look at it, and in some ways she has come back to life, and my family got to remember how much they loved her.”

After Jane’s murder, the Jane L. Mixer award was created in 1970 at the University of Michigan. The award is presented to students who have made the greatest contributions to activities designed to advance the cause of social justice.

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Gary Leiterman is seeking a new trial based on DNA evidence. His first appeal was denied.

The Michigan State Police are re-examining some of the unsolved "co-ed murders."