INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A federal judge has ruled that the man convicted in 2006 of the murder of an Indiana University student who disappeared in 2000 “received ineffective assistance of counsel at trial in violation of his Sixth Amendment rights.”

The ruling overturns the conviction of John Myers II, 43, of Ellettsville, and orders his release from a state prison within 120 days, unless prosecutors opt to retry him.

Myers was convicted Oct. 30, 2006, of the murder of 19-year-old Jill Behrman after a trial preceded by a grand jury investigation. She was reported missing May 31, 2000, and her body was found March 10, 2003, by hunters in Morgan County. She died of a shotgun wound to the back of her head.

Before her body was found, Behrman’s family and friends spent years conducting searches in Monroe and Morgan counties and nationally to find the woman who went missing after a bicycle ride from her Bloomington home. Indiana State Police led the investigation, and the Bloomington Police Department and the FBI also participated. Indiana State Police Detective Rick Lang, now retired was the lead investigator.

Myers was sentenced Dec. 1, 2006, to 65 years in prison, the maximum possible sentence for killing Behrman.

In 2011, Myers’ counsel in a disciplinary hearing before the Indiana Supreme Court admitted he made false statements to the jury during opening arguments of the trial and “failed to object to two significant categories of evidence that should not have been presented to the jury,” said the ruling from James R. Sweeney II, a judge in U.S. District Court in Indianapolis.

The document lists Patrick Baker, Hugh Baker and Mike Keifer as Myers’ attorneys. The lead counsel was Patrick Baker.

Before federal judge’s ruling, Myers’ projected release date was June 8, 2037, according to a state prison inmate database.

The ruling also said Myers’ due process rights were violated when false evidence was presented to the jury and when state prosecutors “failed to disclose all exculpatory evidence.”

The 147-page ruling also list details where evidence was incorrect or not presented to the jury.

Marilyn Behrman, Jill’s mother, released a statement on Facebook. She said she found out about the judge’s decision on her birthday.

“Many of you are aware this became a bittersweet day with the news that the conviction of Jill’s murderer was overturned. Next steps are to be determined and I will take all of this one day at a time,” Marilyn Behrman wrote.

Baker provided this statement on Tuesday night:

“Our legal team initially took on Mr. Myers’ murder case in April of 2006 pro bono because we believed in his innocence, as we still do. We fight for the Constitutional rights of our clients, and when necessary, take on difficult and unpopular causes in the interest of justice. We are very pleased the Court’s Order has given John Myers and his family renewed hope. We express our heartfelt sympathies to the Behrman family and will continue to pray for all involved.”

Patrick V. Baker

Morgan County Prosecutor Steven Sonnega issued a statement that said he had reached out to the Indiana Attorney General’s Office for an analysis of the decision.

“We have received notice of the Federal Court of Appeals decision granting the Defendant’s Writ of Habeas Corpus. I have been in contact with the victim’s parents, Eric and Marilyn Behrman, as well as the lead investigator, Detective (Ret.) Rick Lang.

“Needless to say, we are all disappointed with this outcome as believed that after 13 years, the jury’s guilty verdict was final. I have spoken with the Indiana Attorney’s (sic) General’s Office and they are just analyzing the opinion and its ramifications. Thus, it is premature to discuss the next step in the case. However, I do plan on meeting with the victims and the investigator before any decision is made.”

Morgan County Prosecutor Steven Sonnega