Minnesota Man Freed After 27 Years in Prison as Star Witness Confesses to Murder in Chilling Letter

Brian Hooper Sr., 54, was released from prison Thursday in Minneapolis, Minnesota after a star witness in his case admitted she was the one who killed Ann Prazniak, 77, in 1998

A Minnesota man who spent nearly three decades behind bars for a crime he always insisted he did not commit has been exonerated after a key witness admitted she was the real killer.

Brian Hooper Sr., 54, was released Thursday from Stillwater Correctional Facility after serving more than 27 years for the 1998 murder of 77-year-old Ann Prazniak. His freedom came after Chalaka Young, once the state’s star witness, confessed in a handwritten letter that she killed the elderly woman and lied on the stand to frame Hooper.

In a chilling letter, Chalaka Young said she fabricated her story when she placed blame on Hooper. She also admitted she was the one who killed the elderly woman

Young’s letter, dated July 29, read: “I am not okay any longer with an innocent man sitting in prison for a crime he did not commit.” She said her decision to confess was driven by her sobriety and newfound faith. At the time of writing, she was serving a 10-year sentence in a Georgia prison for battery.

During Hooper’s original trial, Young claimed that Hooper forced her to act as a lookout while he murdered Prazniak inside her Minneapolis apartment, then made her help hide the body. In her new confession, Young admitted that she fabricated her story and acted alone. She described smoking crack cocaine before encountering Prazniak, later waking up in her apartment to find the woman dead. She then wrapped the body in tape, placed it in a box, and shoved it into a closet.

Young penned the detailed letter while serving a 10-year sentence in a Georgia prison for battery

Hooper, who was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole after 30 years, maintained his innocence from the start. His exoneration came after the Great North Innocence Project petitioned for his release, presenting Young’s confession and multiple witness recantations. Four witnesses who originally testified that Hooper made incriminating statements have since withdrawn their claims.

A medical examiner previously determined that Prazniak died of asphyxia between two weeks and a month before her body was discovered.

Praznik's deceased body was found inside a box in a closet. A medical examiner previously ruled Prazniak died of asphyxia

Hooper’s daughter, Briana Hooper, expressed joy at finally being reunited with her father after growing up without him. “My father Brian Hooper Sr. is an innocent man and he’s always been an innocent man,” she said. “We have an opportunity to use my father’s story to shed light on the other people who are sitting behind bars for crimes that they did not commit.”

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty acknowledged the miscarriage of justice, stating: “We are convinced that Brian Hooper did not commit that crime; he has been in prison for 27 years for something he didn’t do. We can never return what was taken from Mr. Hooper in 1998, and for that I am sorry. However, we can do the right thing today.”

Brian Hooper Sr., 54, stepped out of prison a free man on Thursday, wearing a white and black outfit and sharp black and white fedora

Hooper walked out of prison wearing a white shirt, black pants, and a black-and-white fedora, smiling as his family welcomed him home. “I can see my blessings, even through the madness,” he said, according to a GoFundMe set up to help him rebuild his life.

Moriarty previously stated her office would consider pursuing charges against Young once Hooper’s case was finalized, though no decision has yet been announced.