GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — A former Gwinnett County police officer will get to make a case for his innocence in a 1993 murder in a hearing now set for November.

Michael Chapel has spent the last 30 years in prison for the murder of 53-year-old Emogene Thompson, who was found shot dead in her car in April 1993. Her purse, containing thousands of dollars, had been taken from the vehicle.

Though it was raining heavily that night, several eyewitnesses reported seeing a police officer pull behind Thompson's vehicle around the time of the murder. Chapel, who had previously interacted with Thompson when he responded to her home for a theft call, was accused of gaining her trust and killing her for the money.

Chapel was arrested just weeks after the murder but has always maintained his innocence,

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