Press release - Series

August 20, 2024

‘20/20’ Uncovers Information Reigniting a More Than Two-Decades-Old Unsolved Murder Case

In a Rare TV Interview, Anthony Harris, Accused of the Murder at Just 12 Years Old, Speaks With ‘20/20’ 

‘20/20’ Airs Friday, Aug. 23 (9:01-11:00 p.m. EDT), on ABC, Next Day on Hulu

In 1998, 12-year-old Anthony Harris confessed to murdering his 5-year-old neighbor Devan Duniver in a small town in Ohio. But even after a judge found him guilty, Harris and his lawyers maintained his innocence, saying that police coerced his confession using intimidating interrogation techniques on the child. After spending two years in juvenile detention, Harris won his appeal and later had his conviction overturned. ABC News’ John Quiñones sits down with Harris, more than 26 years later, to discuss the reason he confessed to a crime he did not commit, the psychological damage he experienced, and the search for Duniver in the woods behind her home where her body was found. With Duniver’s killer still at large, the program also features interviews with key trial witnesses and search party members who offer information about a suspicious mystery man they allegedly saw lurking at the search. It also reports on how, as a result of the “20/20” interviews, the district attorney asked authorities to speak to these witnesses, reigniting the case. The program includes interviews with Tarin Hale, Harris’ public defender; Daniel Warren and Geoffrey Mearns, Harris’ lawyers for his appeal and civil lawsuit; Dan Risinger, the police officer who took the desperate call from Duniver’s mother reporting her daughter missing; journalists who covered the case extensively; and legal experts. “20/20” also includes footage from the ABC News archives of Quiñones’ 1999 interview with Harris and ABC News interviews with Devan’s mother, Lori Duniver, and Anthony’s mother, Cyndi Harris. “20/20” airs Friday, Aug. 23 (9:01-11:00 p.m. EDT), on ABC, next day on Hulu. (Rebroadcast. OAD: 5/6/2022)

ABC News Media Relations
Sarah Jautz
sarah.jautz@abc.com

Bridgette Maney
bridgette@bridgepr.net

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