Ex-Soldier Convicted Twice of Eastburn Triple Murder Appeals Again

Sept. 2, 2011— -- He was convicted, then acquitted, then convicted again in a triple murder case that dates back to 1985. Now, for the second time in his life, a Washington state man is fighting to get off death row.

Timothy Hennis, then a sergeant in the U.S. Army, was convicted in 1986 of the murders of Kathryn "Katie" Eastburn and her two daughters, Kara, 5, and Erin, 3. The three were killed in their home in May 1985, on the outskirts of Fayetteville, N.C. near Fort Bragg. Air Force Capt. Gary Eastburn, Kathryn's husband, was away for training at Maxwell Air Force base in Alabama. Police found the military wife next to her bed, raped and murdered. Kara and Erin were also stabbed to death, their throats cut. Eastburn's youngest daughter, Jana, not yet two years old, was left alive in her crib in a room down the hall, where she lay for nearly three days before she was carried to safety.

PHOTOS: Ft. Bragg Murder Mystery Spans 25 Years

Hennis' 1986 conviction was overturned on appeal in 1988. At his new trial the following year, Hennis was acquitted. A free man, Hennis returned to his family and the military, serving with distinction in the First Gulf War, and as a Boy Scout leader in his community.

In 2006, police say DNA testing on a swab taken from Kathryn Eastburn's body linked Hennis to the crime. The Fifth Amendment's "double jeopardy" provision prevented North Carolina state officials from trying him again but authorities found a loophole: he was tried and convicted in military court. Hennis was later sentenced to death and is being held at the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kan.

But the case is not closed. Hennis, now 53, has appealed the 2006 conviction, claiming that the Army did not have jurisdiction to try him for the murders, an argument the government contests. Arguments are slated to begin in the case in late October at the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va.

Hennis' 2006 conviction and sentence are also under review by Fort Bragg's commanding general, who has the authority to overturn the conviction or change the sentence. The commanding general is expected to take action this fall.

The Eastburn family, meanwhile, has said they are confident in Hennis' 2006 conviction.

"I just feel that justice has finally been done," Gary Eastburn told "20/20" last year.

Evidence Against Hennis

Police zeroed in on Hennis, then 27, after learning that he had adopted the Eastburns' dog, Dixie, just days before the murder. Prosecutors would later claim that Hennis had learned that Kathryn Eastburn's husband Gary was away. They alleged Hennis returned to the house a few days after adopting the dog, tied up and raped Kathryn, then murdered her and her daughters. Before leaving the house, prosecutors argued, Hennis stole an ATM card and money from Kathryn Eastburn's purse.

The case against Hennis in the two previous trials relied largely on eyewitness testimony. One neighbor said she'd seen a white Chevy Chevette, the same car that Hennis drove, parked near the Eastburns' home, and another neighbor said he'd noticed a man, later identified as Hennis, leaving the crime scene at about 3 a.m., soon after the murders were believed to have taken place. Someone else said she'd seen someone she later identified as Hennis using an ATM card that detectives had traced back to the Eastburns.

But eyewitness testimony can be problematic, and during his 1989 appeal -- which ultimately proved successful -- Hennis' defense attorneys raised questions about the witnesses who had identified him.