Was 3-year-old Christina McNeil killed by her own father or, instead, by a suspect who later would be convicted of another murder?

Barton McNeil is serving a 100-year sentence for the killing of his daughter. He has long claimed that the murder was committed by an estranged girlfriend, Misook Nowlin, who would later be convicted of killing her mother-in-law.

With the help of the Illinois Innocence Project, McNeil has sought to have new evidence introduced for an appeal.  That evidence, and the details of this 1998 case, are the subject of the panel “Beyond the Verdict,” held at Heartland Community College on March 19, 2026.