Murder charges against the suspect in a fatal accident have been dropped due to new evidence

PHOENIX (AZFamily) – A Phoenix man walked out of prison a free man after spending a year behind bars for a drunk driving crash that killed his best friend, and he said he has it thanks to a clairvoyant.

Connor Crofutt's lawyer said new evidence had come to light that proved he was not the one driving.

When his mother entered a Phoenix hospital on September 22, 2022, her son was barely recognizable.

“He was in pretty bad shape,” Kelli Jett said.

Crofutt and his childhood best friend, Cole Boaz, were ejected from Crofutt's car when it collided with another vehicle in front of the Norterra businesses near Interstate 17 and the Happy Valley Road exit.

Boaz died from his injuries.

It wasn't until a year later that police arrested Crofutt and charged him with driving 107 miles per hour and having a blood alcohol content of 0.358.

“In many DUI cases, the charge is manslaughter. He was charged with second-degree murder,” said Crofutt’s attorney, Alexis Brooks.

Brooks said the evidence never added up.

She said police told a grand jury that Crofutt admitted to drinking alcohol and driving, but body camera footage showed a doctor said he admitted to just drinking.

And she said the grand jury didn't get the whole truth about the DNA evidence.

“That's a pretty big deal when you say to a grand jury that he admitted to drinking and driving and that Connor's DNA was the only DNA on the steering wheel. When the case was investigated, that was not the truth. Both DNA was in the (driver side) airbag,” she said.

Brooks said Crofutt's hair was also found on the passenger side of the windshield, where he was ejected.

Jett said this all came to light after a psychic encouraged Boaz's girlfriend to investigate the case further.

“She called and met with a few witnesses and they both told her that it wasn't the boy with long hair, but my son, who had long hair at the time. “It was the boy with the short hair driving,” Jett said.

Brooks took the information to the district attorney's office and they agreed.

A spokesperson for the Maricopa County District Attorney's Office released this statement.

Crofutt broke the good news to his mother last week.

“He says, 'Mom, you're not going to believe this.' Thinking the worst, I thought, “What?” He said, “Mom, I'm getting released.” “I wasn't the one driving,” she said.

Brooks said Crofutt is now focused on getting his life back together. And he wants to shake off the stigma of being an accused murderer.

“They were best friends and he was in custody for a year for killing his best friend and not doing it. He wasn’t driving,” Brooks said.

Phoenix police also sent a statement to Arizona's family.

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