Jack McCullough, 76, of Seattle, has been released from jail with no bond after being charged with the murder of Sycamore 7-year-old Maria Ridulph.

On Sept. 14, 2012, McCullough, a retired security guard, was convicted in Ridulph’s 1957 killing and sentenced to life in prison, in one of the oldest unsolved U.S. cases ever to go to trial, at 55-years old.

McCullough’s conviction was dismissed today and he has been granted a new trial. The case is to be continued on April 22. Richard Schmack, DeKalb County State’s Attorney, is currently reviewing the impact of the ruling, according to a news release.

Schmack conducted a six-month review and concluded that McCullough couldn’t possibly have killed Ridulph. Schmack found evidence to back up McCullough’s claim that he had been 35 miles away in Rockford when Ridulph was abducted. 

Schmack said it was an “impossibility” for McCullough to have been in Sycamore during the time of the crime as he was found to have been making a phone call in downtown Rockford. The shortest distance from Sycamore to downtown Rockford is 35 miles.