Martin Tankleff was freed after serving 17 years in prison and posting a $1 million bail bond this past week. Tankleff was sentenced in 1990 for the killing of his parents, Seymour Tankleff and Arlene Tankleff in their Belle Terre house in 1988.
An appeal court last Friday overturned the 1990 conviction based on new evidence that suggests someone else might have killed the couple.
Martin Tankleff’s defense lawyers have insisted for years that Seymour Tankleff’s business partner, Jerry Steuerman, was behind the murders. Steuerman has always denied any involvement in the murders, but subsequently moved to California while Seymour Tankleff was still in a coma.
Prosecutors of Suffolk County are reportedly pursuing new murder charges against Martin Tankleff and disagree with the appeal courts recent decision. Meanwhile, Martin Tankleff’s attorneys are continuing to collect new information on the case.