Naman Shrestha
NBC’s ‘Dateline: True Confession’ explores the hit-and-miss investigation of the 1996 rape and murder of Angie Dodge. Apart from the rightful conviction of the actual perpetrator, Brian Leigh Dripps Sr., it sheds light on the false accusation against a New Orleans-based filmmaker, Michael Usry Jr. With an in-depth look into the case and the emotional impact Angie’s death caused her family and loved ones, the episode also focuses on the accusation against Michael, his clearing in the matter, and the significant affect it had on the artist’s life and career.
Filmmaker Michael Usry Jr. Was Accused of Murder
Hailing from New Orleans, Louisiana, Michael Usry Jr. is a filmmaker who was suspected to be involved in the murder of Angie Dodge in 1996. About 18 years after the tragedy, the detectives were still in search of the killer as the one behind bars was falsely sentenced. In the summer of 2014, they got a DNA hit while going through a public DNA database, which linked Michael Usry Sr. to the crime. Since the killer could not have been that old, they suspected his son, Michael Usry Jr., a filmmaker trying to make it big while living in New Orleans. His chase toward success was halted when a couple of detectives from Idaho Falls and a local police officer knocked on his door in December 2014 and brought him in for questioning.
Besides the DNA, what connected Michael to the murder was his trips to Idaho and the eerie nature of his movies, such as ‘Murderabilia.’ It was also about the murder of a young woman. During most parts of the interrogation, he remained clueless and could not make sense of how he was linked to the case. The next few weeks for Michael were filled with worry, despite his constant insistence that he did not do anything wrong. But soon, he learned that his father had participated in a genealogy project, and because of that his DNA was recorded on the public database, which was purchased by Ancestry.
When Michael found out that 34 out of 35 DNA markers matched the killer, he was bothered by the idea that someone from his family might be the actual killer. But his worries went away after some long six weeks on January 13, 2o15, when he received an email from the police. He was officially cleared of the accusations held against him in the murder case of Angie Dodge. Still traumatized by the entire experience, he expressed his frustration, saying, “I was angry at everybody. The police, scientists…these database companies. How could they misfire so bad?”
Michael Usry Jr. Has Gone Under the Radar
When Michael Usry Jr. was officially cleared of the accusations, he was determined to ensure that nobody else would go through what he went through. So, he decided to put his filmmaking skills to good use and begin working on a documentary about the entire predicament. When Carol Dodge, Angie’s mother, agreed to talk about the case for the documentary, he joined forces with her. However, when he heard her story, he changed his documentary’s focus to her determined search for her daughter’s murderer. Thus, he got invested in the case with her and together, they hunted for the real perpetrator. Ancestry received a lot of heat after Michael was falsely accused because of its database. Critics argued that just because Michael Usry Sr. donated his DNA sample for religious purposes didn’t mean that it could be used to accuse his family members of the crime.
In the aftermath of it, one of the company spokespersons passed a statement in an attempt to pacify the situation. They said, “Ancestry understands the responsibility that comes with the trust our customers place in us, and protecting their privacy is among our highest priorities. Ancestry will not share any information with law enforcement unless compelled to by valid legal process, such as a court order or search warrant. The Usry case was unique. It involved a database we purchased that was an open and publicly available research resource at the time we bought it. After this case, we made the database private to help protect the privacy of our customers. This is also the only formal legal request for DNA-related information we have received, as indicated in our transparency reports.”
It appears that following the ordeal, Michael has chosen a life of privacy away from the limelight. Owing to this and his lack of social media presence, the filmmaker’s whereabouts can’t be confirmed, as of writing. However, we believe that he is likely moving forward and putting his focus in healing from the impact the incident had on his life. It is likely that he is still pursuing his career and utilizing his filmmaking abilities to bring about a change in this world, while leading a healthy life with his loved ones.
Read More: David Hunt and Doug Lainer: Where Are the Falsely Accused Now?
