Man Facing 99 Years In Prison For 'Attacking Ex' Is Cleared Thanks To Selfie

A 21-year-old who was facing the possibility of spending the next 99 years in prison has been cleared of all charges, thanks to a selfie.

Cristopher Precopia, 21, had been accused of breaking into his house of an ex-girlfriend he had dated at high school, attacking her with a box-cutter knife and carving an 'X' onto her chest.

He was arrested by police on September 21, 2017, but the alleged victim had claimed the 'attack' happened the day before.

He faced a charge of burglary of a habitation with the intent to commit other crimes, which carries a 99-year prison term.

But there was a twist in the tale.

After Precopia's parents had paid the $150,000 bail, a selfie his mother had taken and uploaded to Facebook, with timestamp and location, was the vital piece of evidence that proved his alibi.

Precopia told local television station KVUE: "I had no idea why everything was happening, and I was lost."

The alleged victim told police the attack had happened at about 7.30pm on September 20, when Precopia claimed he was in fact 65 miles away at a hotel in North West Austin with his family.

His mum Erin, who is active on social media, soon realised that she had posted a photograph of her son on Facebook at the time the attack was supposed to have happened.

The photo shows Precopia in the left corner alongside his mum, while another couple is in the back.

Erin told KVUE: "I'm thinking, this is awesome. By the grace of God, she said it happened on the day when I can say totally, 100 percent, where he was at."

KVUE

Thousands of dollars in legal fees later, Precopia took his evidence to the Bell County prosecutor and the charges were dropped 'in the interest of justice', nine months after he was first arrested.

Sworn affidavits from those who were with Precopia at the time were also filed in his defense.

In most cases, investigators attempt to interview a suspect before they are charged, but in this case police reports show Precopia returned a phone call to police and left a message, which led to his arrest.

Despite the false claims, the ex-girlfriend has not been charged with a crime, but told police that she and Precopia had a troubled relationship when they dated in high school, which she claimed were the motive for the assault.

Precopia said: "I'm ready to actually live my life, the way I want to, without having any kind of worry that this can come back and hurt me."

Topics: Interesting, US News, crime

Dominic Smithers

Dominic graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in French and History. Like you, Dom has often questioned how much use a second language has been. Well, after stints working at the Manchester Evening News, the Accrington Observer and the Macclesfield Express, along with never setting foot in France, he realised the answer is surprisingly little. But I guess, c'est la vie. Contact us at [email protected]

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