Marty Tankleff Released After 17 Years

Marty Tankleff was 17 when he found his parents murdered in their home. He supposedly slept through the whole nightmare. Police immediately focused on Tankleff, and after hours of questioning by police, he made a confession.

Homicide investigator James McCready lied to Tankleff and told him his dad, who laid unconscious in a coma, was given adrenaline, came to, and pointed the finger at Marty.

Marty said his dad never lied, so he questioned if he blacked out. But shortly after that, he claimed his confession was a lie. Tankleff was convicted, and sentenced to 50 years for murdering his parents.

Read moreFor 17 years, Tankleff has stood firm on the fact that he did not kill his parents, and that he believed his dad’s business partner, Jerry Steuerman, who owned his dad thousands of dollars needed to be investigated.

Steurman was last known to be at the Tankleff home at 3:00 a.m. on the night of the murders. The two business partners, who were not on good terms, still played poker together.

After the murders, in a bizarre twist, Steuerman faked his own death and moved to Southern California to live under an assumed name. When tracked down and questioned about his behavior, Steurman said he was under a lot of stress, but had nothing to do with the murders.

It took the work of a pro bono legal team, and one hard working retired New York cop, Jay Salpeter, to finally get Tankleff free. He was released in late December 2007, and word has now come out today that the prosecutor of Suffolk County will not try the case again.

Steurman, or other people who have been pointed at as the potential killers, have yet to charged with anything to date.

This story really takes a lot of twists and turns, and I couldn’t possible recount the story anywhere near as effectively as 48 Hours did. It’s online and a very compelling story to watch. It’s a must see!

I think what Salpeter digs up clearly speaks for itself. The world needs a lot more people like Jay Salpeter, that’s for sure!