On Sunday, Feb. 13, 2000, Jane Dorotik’s husband Bob went out for a run and never came back. He was found dead by the side of the road early the next morning, and Jane’s life changed forever. Three days later, she was arrested for his murder. Over the next two decades Jane would become a convict, a martyr, an advocate and she would play a key role in exposing fatal flaws in the criminal justice system.
Free Jane
On Sunday, February 13, 2000, Jane Dorotik’s husband Bob went out for a run and never came back. He was found dead by the side of the road early the next morning, and Jane’s life changed forever. Three days later, she was arrested for his murder. Over the next two decades Jane would become a convict, a martyr, an advocate, and she would play a key role in exposing fatal flaws in the criminal justice system.
Free Jane Hosted by Katie Hyson
Episodes
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We still have no strong leads on who actually killed Bob Dorotik. But Jane has to move on. Now she is devoting all her time to activism, lobbying the government for prison reform. -
The bad science in Jane’s case has implications for many other cases in San Diego County as well. The work of Jane’s lawyers led the DA’s office to send out a Brady letter to defense attorneys warning them that evidence used in other cases could be questionable.
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Popular culture and the media are obsessed with forensic science. But much of that science does not always hold up to scrutiny.
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Jane Dorotik’s luck had finally begun to change. While she was still in prison for her husband’s murder, she was able to get the attention of lawyers with the Innocence Project.
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Jane Dorotik had always believed the justice system worked just fine, and people who were in prison likely deserved to be there. Then she went to prison herself.
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Jane Dorotik’s trial began in March 2000 and it was a media circus. While the prosecution focused on scientific evidence — tire tracks, blood pattern analysis, contents of Bob’s stomach — the defense didn’t tackle that evidence and instead took the unusual strategy of blaming Jane’s daughter Claire for the murder.
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On Sunday, Feb. 13, 2000, Jane Dorotik’s husband Bob went out for a run and never came back. He was found dead by the side of the road early the next morning, and Jane’s life changed forever.
-
On Sunday, Feb. 13, 2000, Jane Dorotik’s husband Bob went out for a run and never came back. He was found dead by the side of the road early the next morning, and Jane’s life changed forever. Three days later, she was arrested for his murder. Over the next two decades Jane would become a convict, a martyr, an advocate, and she would play a key role in exposing fatal flaws in the criminal justice system.
Free Jane Team
Katie Hyson
HostKatie Hyson is the host of Free Jane. Katie Hyson reports on racial justice and social equity for KPBS. She moved here from Gainesville, Florida, where she reported on the same beat. Prior to journalism, she advised immigrants, administered an organic farm, and offered nonprofit assistance to sex workers. She loves sunshine, adrenaline and a great story.
Claire Trageser
Reporter and ProducerClaire is KPBS' deputy editor leading digital-first content development and training for award-winning journalists. She has produced radio, TV, and podcast series, and created a police shootings database. Claire won San Diego Society of Professional Journalists' Journalist of the Year in 2020 and two Diversity Prizes. She studied chemistry at Reed College and earned a master's degree in journalism at UC Berkeley.
David Washburn
EditorDavid is KPBS' Investigations Editor since 2019, with 25 years of experience in investigative and explanatory news. He has won awards for stories on officer-involved shootings, Iraq' s contractor corruption, and misuse of funds at the Red Cross. David has also worked with Voice of San Diego, Voice of OC, and EdSource. He holds a B.A. from the University of Missouri School of Journalism and has previously worked for Dateline NBC.
Terence Shepherd
EditorTerence Shepherd serves as news director for KPBS, managing an award-winning newsroom of reporters, hosts, editors, producers and videographers. Before joining KPBS, Shepherd worked at WLRN, the public radio news outlet in South Florida serving Broward, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach and Monroe counties, where he had been news director since 2013. The station earned the National Edward R. Murrow Award for Overall Excellence in 2021. Before public media, Shepherd was a business editor at the Miami Herald and held various editing positions at the Boca Raton News.
Kurt Kohnen
Sound DesignKurt Kohnen is an Emmy Award winning producer, audio engineer, and sound designer. He is currently the teacher/advisor for CHSTV, the nationally recognized broadcast journalism program at Carlsbad High School that focuses on human interest feature stories and daily live broadcasts. Mr.Kohnen is also adjunct professor of music at San Diego City College where he has specialized in music production and basic theory for nearly a decade. He previously served as audio engineer and radio production manager at KPBS for 20 years where he produced the KPBS Summer Music Series and the Parker Edison Project podcast. He earned a bachelor's degree in Communications and Media Management from San Diego State University, and an MFA in music technology from Southern Utah University.
Lara McCaffrey
Producer and Web DesignAs web producer, Lara McCaffrey is responsible for writing web stories, copy editing and updating the station’s website. Prior to joining KPBS, Lara worked as a freelance journalist for San Diego CityBeat, HerMoney, OK Whatever, Out There podcast and more. She also interned for Psychology Today and reached millions of readers as a senior content creator at digital media company 101 Network. Lara has a master's in journalism from Columbia University' s Graduate School of Journalism and a bachelor's in political science from University of California, San Diego.
