A father who spent almost thirty years in prison has been liberated after a woman, once deemed a key witness during his trial, confessed to committing the crime through a chilling handwritten letter.
Brian Hooper Sr., convicted of the murder of 77-year-old Ann Prazniak, was cleared of charges and released from Minnesota’s Stillwater Correctional Facility on Thursday when Chalaka Young admitted to killing the elderly woman.
Hooper, now 54, was found guilty of killing Prazniak in 1998 and sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 30 years.
The former prisoner, who had consistently professed his innocence, regained his freedom after Young identified herself as the murderer in a letter that surfaced on July 29.
‘I can no longer endure an innocent man being imprisoned for an offense he didn’t commit,’ Young expressed, citing her sobriety and newfound faith as reasons for coming forward.
Young, who wrote the letter while serving a ten-year sentence in a Georgia prison for battery, further informed authorities that she concocted a story about Hooper and chose to ‘stick with’ it during his trial.
Upon his release, Hooper’s daughter, Briana Hooper, shared her joy about being reunited with her father, whom she had to grow up without all these years.
‘My father Bryan Hooper Sr. is an innocent man and he’s always been an innocent man,’ Brianna said.
Brian Hooper Sr., 54, was released from prison Thursday in Minneapolis, Minnesota after a star witness in his case admitted she was the one who killed Ann Prazniak, 77, in 1998. He is pictured with his daughter, Briana
In a chilling letter, Chalaka Young said she fabricated her story when she placed blame on Hooper. She also admitted she was the one who killed the elderly woman
Young penned the detailed letter while serving a 10-year sentence in a Georgia prison for battery
‘We have an opportunity to use my father’s story to shed light on the other people who are sitting behind bars for crimes that they did not commit.’
During Hooper’s trial, Young claimed that he forced her to be his lookout while he killed Prazniak in her Minneapolis apartment.
The killer said Hooper then made her wrap the woman’s body in a blanket bound with tape before throwing it in a closet. She has now admitted that she acted alone.
In her written confession, she said that after taking ‘a hit of dope’ she ‘would get ideas.’
One of these ‘ideas’, she said, was to ‘tape up the body, put it in a box and shove it in the closet, and that’s what I did.’
The written confession, which was included in the recent petition brought forward by Hooper and the Great Northern Innocence Project on Tuesday, also laid bare Young’s alleged recollection of what happened that day.
In it, Young reportedly said she had just finished smoking crack in a stairwell before encountering Prazniak in the hallway and asking if she had anything to drink.
The next thing she remembered was waking up on the old woman’s couch and seeing Prazniak lying on the floor of her home.
Praznik’s deceased body was found inside a box in a closet. A medical examiner previously ruled Prazniak died of asphyxia
Hooper served more than 27 in prison for a crime he always said he didn’t commit
In his petition, Hooper claimed that Younger went on to confess a second time to a prison Chaplin, Janine Davis, who contacted the authorities at the inmate’s request.
She ultimately recanted the claims she made during her testimony. Four other witnesses involved in the case, who said Hooper ‘made incriminating statements,’ also recanted.
A medical examiner previously ruled Prazniak died of asphyxia two weeks to a month before her deceased body was discovered, according to court documents reviewed by KSTP.
Following his long-awaited release, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said that although Prazniak’s death ‘was senseless,’ they ‘are convinced that Bryan Hooper did not commit that crime; he has been in prison for 27 years for something he didn’t do.’
Moriarty added: ‘We can never return what was taken from Mr Hooper in 1998 and for that, I am sorry. However, we can do the right thing today, and today we are joining the petition to vacate Mr Hooper’s conviction.’
On Thursday, The Great North Innocence Project, a group that works on freeing the wrongfully convicted, posted heartwarming pictures to Instagram of Hooper as he walked out of prison.
He stepped out of prison a free man on Thursday, wearing a white and black outfit and sharp black and white fedora
He donned a white shirt and black pants and a sharp black and white fedora, as he smiled big around his family who all came out to welcome him home.
‘I can see my blessings, even through the madness,’ Hooper said, according to a GoFundMe page the organization made to help him get back on his feet.
Moriarty previously said her office would consider seeking murder charges against Young after Hooper’s case was finalized.
The news release did not specify if charges would be brought against Young. Daily Mail contacted the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office.
