W. Mich. man exonerated in wife's murder may be getting paid for time behind bars

COLDWATER, Mich. (NEWSCHANNEL 3) - A West Michigan man convicted, re-tried, and then cleared of his wife's murder could soon be getting paid for the time he wrongfully spent behind bars.

Tom Foley says someone shot and killed his wife, Dar, in the shower of their Coldwater home back in February 2009.

He immediately became a suspect, and was convicted of killing Dar Foley later that year.

In 2011, new evidence got him a new trial, where he was found not guilty and released from prison.

We spoke with Tom Foley exclusively earlier this year about his push to find his wife's true killer.

"It's been 8 years. It's been 8 years since she was killed and something needs to happen, and it needs to happen now. I've got my life back together but I still have this empty hole in my heart that, you know, this needs to happen. This needs to happen especially for Heath. Heath needs to know who is responsible for his mom being killed," he said.

State lawmakers passed the Wrongful Imprisonment Compensation Act late last year, which gives people $50,000 for each year they wrongly spent behind bars.

Foley's case is one of the first they'll consider, with a hearing set for Wednesday morning.