Zellner Victorious In Amazon Echo Hot Tub Murder Case

DOWNERS GROVE, IL — Downers Grove attorney Kathleen Zellner has a long history of taking on high-profile cases — and winning her clients' freedom. Zellner has successfully represented father Kevin Fox, exonerated in daughter Riley Fox's murder after DNA pointed to the real killer, as well as Jerry Hobbs, another Illinois dad falsely imprisoned for his child's murder. This week, Zellner celebrated another legal victory as the charges against another client, James A. Bates, were dropped.

Bates, of Bentonville, Arkansas, was charged with the November 2015 death of former police officer Victor Parris Collins. Collins was found dead in Bates' hot tub the morning after a night of drinking and watching football.

The case drew national attention after prosecutors demanded access to audio from Bates' Amazon Echo smart home device, claiming it may contain evidence of a crime. Last March, Zellner announced that Bates had agreed to release the Amazon Echo recordings.

This week, prosecutors in Arkansas dropped the murder charge against Bates, as well as tampering with evidence charges. Prosecutors said they were dismissing the case because evidence points to more than one "reasonable explanation" for Bates' death. "I can't stand in front of a jury and ask them to convict someone beyond a reasonable doubt if I myself have a reasonable doubt," Prosecuting Attorney Nathan Smith told CNN affiliate KNWA.

Zellner — who also represents Steven Avery, the subject of the Netflix "Making A Murderer" documentary — told a Bentonville TV station that she met with Bates this week to share the good news. Zellner reportedly handed her a client a note with the words "Merry Christmas" on the front. “It says, 'Dear James, it is over," Bates told KFSM. "And it's still kind of hard to let it sink in, I need to pinch myself still because it's been such a long two years."

Zellner told the station she was "thrilled" to tell James and his parents that he had "his life back," adding "You know this is the first day of the rest of your life."

Bates said the case cost him custody of his son, his job and his reputation. He was arrested — in front of his son — three months after finding Collins dead.

Zellner tweeted a photo of herself and Bates standing triumphantly outside the Bentonville courthouse.

The case generated headlines after Amazon initially waged a privacy fight against a subpoena seeking 48 hours' worth of data from Bates' Amazon Echo device.

Zellner has a track record of working tirelessly to prove her clients' innocence. She's also a prolific Twitter user, this week tweeting about another legal victory as a judge agreed to allow DNA evidence linking a Marine — who was also convicted in a 2009 murder — to the 2004 deaths of two little girls in Illinois.

"Here is what happens when the cops arrest the wrong person...more murders & rapes by the real killer. My client Jerry Hobbs freed but it has taken years to get (Torrez)," Zellner wrote, adding the hashtag "#disgraceful." Hobbs spent five years behind bars for the 2005 murders of his daughter, Laura, 8, and Laura's friend, 9-year-old Krystal Tobias.

Now, Jorge Avila-Torrez, a 28-year-old former Marine, stands accused of the girls' murders. Torrez, an ex-Marine, was convicted in the 2009 murder of Navy Petty Officer Amanda Snell. He's been sentenced to death in Snell's murder and five consecutive life sentences plus 168 years for stalking and raping three other women.

Image: Kathleen Zellner at the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival. Photo by Monica Schipper/Getty Images for the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival