ucas Goodrum, 23, of Scottsville spent nearly two years in jail before a jury decided that there was insufficient evidence to convict him of the murder of Pellville freshman Melissa “Katie” Autry.
Many Western students and faculty said they weren’t surprised by the verdict.
Patti Johnson, president of the Student Government Association, said she believes students have been following the case.
“I think there’s mixed opinions, some people were shocked, others were not,” she said of the verdict. “I think it will help students move on from the incident, and there’s closure.”
President Gary Ransdell said he believes the university moved on after Stephen Soules, 22, of Scottsville was arrested and confessed to the crime. Goodrum was arrested after Soules implicated him.
Owensboro senior Jonathan Keller said he never heard about enough physical evidence to make him believe Goodrum was guilty.
“You can’t convict if the only thing they have against him is the other felon,” Keller said.
Princeton junior Sarah Martin said it seemed like most people were assuming Goodrum was guilty, although she wasn’t surprised he was acquitted.
The lack of physical evidence was also enough to keep Louisville senior Seth Johnson unconvinced that Goodrum was guilty.
“If there’s not proof that he was actually there, I couldn’t convict him,” Johnson said.
Physics professor Wieb Van der Meer said Western owes Goodrum an apology to help him overcome the pain of the last two years.
“I believe that he acted honorably at his press conference,” Van der Meer said. “He did not say anything negative about Western, and he could have.”
Associate psychology professor, Kelly Madole, said she was surprised by how quickly the jury deliberated, which was three hours.
“I just thought they probably needed to deliberate longer,” she said. “From what I knew, it didn’t look like the evidence was there.”
Reach Beth Wilberding at news@wkuherald.com.
.