US jury finds Vegas police fabricated evidence in 2001 killing, awards $34M to exonerated woman

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A federal jury in Las Vegas has awarded more than $34 million to a woman who served more than 15 years in prison for a 2001 killing she did not commit. Kristin Lobato was arrested at age 18 and wrongly convicted twice. She is now 41 and uses the name Blaise. The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports she gasped, cried and hugged her attorneys after a judge read the verdict Thursday. The jury found two Las Vegas police detectives fabricated evidence in the case. Lobato was freed from prison in 2018 after the Nevada Supreme Court cited evidence that she was 150 miles away when the killing happened in Las Vegas.