Eerie evidence leads to ‘Railroad Spike Killer’ David Lee Myers’ jail release after mom found dead with stones in body

A MAN who has spent three decades on death row for killing a teen mom with a railroad spike has been released from prison.

David Lee Myers, famously nicknamed the railroad spike killer, is now on house arrest as he awaits a new trial for the 1988 murder of 18-year-old Amanda Jo Maher.

After 29 years in prison for the crime, Myers' murder conviction has been thrown out and he's been granted a new trial after new DNA evidence was found from the scene.

Maher, the mom of an eight-month-old girl, was found "barely alive" near abandoned railroad tracks in Xenia, Ohio, in August 1988, according to court documents.

She was found with a railroad spike in her temple and three stones inserted into her vagina.

After being flown to a nearby hospital, Maher died from severe head trauma due to the spike in her forehead and attempted strangulation.

Myers was arrested the next day as he was the last person to have seen her alive. At the time, he had already been on probation for sexual battery.

Police said Myers and Maher were seen leaving a bar together on the night of her death after Maher's boyfriend was arrested for disorderly conduct.

Myers told Maher's boyfriend and a cop that he would take care of her and make sure she got home safe.

He was arrested the day after Maher's murder, but it took years until he was convicted.

In 1996, Myers was sentenced to death for the killing. He's remained on death row for the past 29 years - until new evidence was found.

NEW DNA

Earlier this year, Myers' lawyers filed a motion to overturn his death sentence when new DNA was discovered on the railroad spike and one of the rocks from inside Maher's body.

A cigarette butt collected at the crime scene also revealed new DNA from an unidentified male.

Visiting Judge Jonathan Hein overturned the conviction and sentence and gave Myers, 60, a new trial.

RELEASED ON HOUSE ARREST

Myers walked out of the courthouse on Monday on bond with house arrest and 24-hour GPS monitoring.

TIMELINE OF THE CASE

David Lee Myers has been released from prison after three decades on death row for the murder of Amanda Jo Maher in 1988. Court documents reveal a full timeline of the case.

August 4, 1998 - Maher found 'barely alive' with a railroad spike in her head near train tracks in Xenia, Ohio. She's taken to a nearby hospital where she dies. Myers is arrested later that day.

August 8, 1998 - Myers is indicted on one count of aggravated murder.

February 1, 1991 - The murder indictment is abandoned.

April 22, 1991 - Myers pleads guilty to forgery charges and is sentenced to three years in prison.

February 12, 1993 - Myers is arraigned again for the murder charge.

January 9, 1996 - Jury trial for the case begins. He is convicted of the murder and sentenced to death.

2020 - Myers is granted access to new DNA testing.

2024 - Motion filed to overturn Myer's death sentence after new DNA is discovered.

August 2024 - Myers is granted a new trial.

August 19, 2024 - Judge overturns Myer's conviction and sentence. Myers is released on house arrest.

November 22, 2004 - Case is due back in court for a pretrial conference call

Hein told Myers that he expects him to “rise to the occasion, not wipe my face in it.”

Myers' lead defense attorney Elizabeth Smith told the judge that he wasn't a flight risk because he has no driver's license and money, according to local outlet the Xenia Daily Gazette.

“He’s not going anywhere,” Smith said.

“He’s not a danger to public safety. He is entitled to the presumption of innocence.”

'WHY RISK IT?'

The judge's decision was controversial as many believe Myers should've stayed in jail.

“We disagree with the court’s decision to release Myers on a personal recognizance bond,” County Prosecutor David Hayes said.

Sarah Sparkman, Maher's daughter who was just eight months old when she died, asked the judge not to release Myers.

“Why risk it? I have experienced a lifetime of emotional and psychological turmoil due to my mother’s death,” Sparkman said, according to local Cox Media Group affiliate WHIO.

She told the outlet that the decision has brought up complicated emotions about her mom's death.

“I never thought I would be here, this is weird, we’ve got a man in prison, his family is probably the most hopeful they’ve ever been in 36 years," Sparkman said.

"I feel the most lost I’ve ever felt in 36 years."

The case is due back in court in November.