Heins Retrial Set for December

By Roger Weeder First Coast News

JACKSONVILLE, FL -- A judge today set bond at $1 million for Chad Heins, who'll be retried for the murder of a woman in 1994.

Heins pleaded not guilty to the charges Thursday as the judge set a new trial date for December 3.

Roger Heins along with his wife made the trip from Wisconsin to testify for their son.

The couple pledged their home when questioned what they could afford to get their son out of jail.

The couple says the $1 million dollar bond is something they cannot afford.

Heins went to prison for life in 1996 when a jury convicted him for the murder of Tina Heins.

Authorities said Heins raped and stabbed his sister-in-law 27 times while she slept at her Mayport home. Heins claimed he was passed out on the couch.

Last December, a judge threw out the conviction when new evidence came to light.

The Innocence Project helped to get DNA evidence in the Heins case re-tested.

The results showed DNA under Tina Heins' fingernails belonged to someone other than Chad Heins or her husband.

The findings raised questions over the possibility of another killer.

Robert Link is part of Heins' defense team. He believes science holds the key for Heins.

"At that time there was no DNA from fingernails available," said Link. "It was too small a quantity so that was not presented at all." The Heins family went to court Thursday to argue for a reduced bond, but the judge denied the request.

"Right now he's probably taking it pretty hard...he's probably in there crying" said Roger Heins after the court hearing.

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