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John Tingle, Jr.

Other Virginia Exonerations
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At around dusk on February 8, 1993, 24-year-old Melissa Hellstrom was jogging on Ocean Boulevard in Virginia Beach, Virginia when a man who was also jogging attacked her and attempted to drag her toward the beach. She managed to break free and called police.

She provided a description of her attacker and a composite sketch was prepared by police. At the time, police were attempting to solve a series of rapes and believed the attacks were perpetrated by a serial rapist.

Two weeks later, Hellstrom was driving and saw 25-year-old John Tingle Jr. jogging on the street blocks from where she had been attacked. She believed he was her attacker and called police. Tingle was arrested and charged with kidnapping and assault.

Tingle, a resident of Ocean City, Maryland who had no criminal record and was studying to be a chef, was released on bond and went on trial in August 1993. Hellstrom identified him as her attacker. There was no physical or forensic evidence linking Tingle to the crime. Tingle testified and denied he committed the crime. His attorney, Janet Rinaldi, a public defender, argued that Hellstrom had made a mistake.

On August 18, 1993, the jury convicted Tingle of assault and attempted kidnapping.

On November 24, 1993, when Tingle was scheduled to be sentenced, Rinaldi presented a motion to set aside the verdict, citing new evidence. During six hours of testimony, a police chief, a detective, a member of the jury and other witnesses testified that they no longer believed Tingle was Hellstrom’s attacker. Judge Thomas Shadrick denied the motion. He sentenced Tingle to 10 years in prison.

On December 6, 1993, Rinaldi presented a defense motion asking Judge Shadrick to review additional new evidence in camera. Rinaldi said that prosecutors had revealed that a woman who had been raped gave a description of her attacker that was similar to the description given by Hellstrom. A composite sketch had drawn based on the rape victim’s description. When the rape victim was shown the composite that was drawn based on Hellstrom’s description, she said it more closely resembled attacker than the composite that was based on her own description.

Judge Shadrick reviewed the motion in his chambers and declined to review the evidence.

On December 24, 1983, police arrested 23-year-old Kerri Charity on a charge of raping a woman in Virginia Beach. On Christmas Day, Hellstrom read a newspaper article about the arrest that included a picture of Charity. She called prosecutors and asked to see the actual photograph, and after seeing it, said she was no longer convinced Tingle was her attacker.

The prosecution arranged for Hellstrom to attend a court hearing for Charity. When she saw him in person, she told authorities she could no longer say with confidence that Tingle was her assailant.

The prosecution then requested a hearing, which was held on January 12, 1994. At the hearing Hellstrom testified that she was unsure of Tingle’s guilt. Judge Shadrick suspended Tingle’s sentence and ordered Tingle released on a $10,000 bond.

On January 19, 1994, Tingle returned to Judge Shadrick’s courtroom where the judge declared a mistrial in the case. Tingle’s convictions were vacated and the case was dismissed.

Chief Public Defender Peter Legler, said at the time that he had never seen a victim come forward after a conviction to tell the courts about a possible misidentification. “That took a tremendous amount of courage. She (Hellstrom) deserves the thanks of everyone,” Legler told the Virginian-Pilot.

Charity, who was referred to as “The North End Rapist,” was ultimately convicted of numerous rapes and attacks on women and received seven life sentences plus 80 years in prison. He was not prosecuted for the attack on Hellstrom.

– Maurice Possley

 

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Posting Date: 3/11/2013
Last Updated: 1/27/2025
State:Virginia
County:Virginia Beach
Most Serious Crime:Assault
Additional Convictions:Kidnapping
Reported Crime Date:1993
Convicted:1993
Exonerated:1994
Sentence:10 years
Race/Ethnicity:Black
Sex:Male
Age at the date of reported crime:25
Contributing Factors:Mistaken Witness ID
Did DNA evidence contribute to the exoneration?:No