Rape conviction overturned after 36 years due to debunked FBI evidence

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Daniel Granillo, convicted of rape and kidnapping on Maui 36 years ago, could soon be released after the Hawaii Supreme Court ordered a new trial, finding that hair and fiber evidence used against him was false.

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Granillo, now 67, has maintained his innocence. His 1990 conviction relied on FBI testimony that a single hair and fabric fibers tied his car to the alleged victim.

Discredited science

For decades, the FBI lab matched hair and fiber samples from crime scenes, victims and suspects, but later admitted that method was not valid evidence.

Chris Fabricant of the New York Innocence Project said Granillo wrote to the organization for help.

“The problem with these junk science cases is a lot of these junk scientists believe their own nonsense,” Fabricant said.

Granillo, who had only a minor criminal record before the felony charge, was among hundreds convicted using that type of evidence. He was sentenced to 40 years.

“But you can’t let somebody spend the rest of their life in prison when we know their trial was fundamentally unfair,” Fabricant said.

Timeline of the case

Granillo was convicted in 1990. In 2009, the National Academy of Science discredited hair matching. In 2017, the FBI informed Maui prosecutors that the hair evidence in Granillo’s case was invalid.

Between 2019 and 2025, Granillo’s appeals to the Circuit Court and the Intermediate Court failed.

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At the Hawaii Supreme Court this year, Maui prosecutors stood by their case.

“Even if you discard the hair and fiber evidence, there was sufficient evidence to convict the defendant in this matter,” said Gerald Enriques, a deputy prosecutor for Maui County.

Hawaii Supreme Court Justice Todd Eddins questioned that position.

“That fiber evidence was really the key piece of evidence by the prosecution, because it placed her in the car with her pants down,” Eddins said. “And that’s my point. There’s no way this was harmless error.”

Earle Partington, Granillo’s appeal attorney, argued the case should be decided in his client’s favor.

“This is a close case, and in a close case, the defendant gets the benefit of the doubt,” Partington said.

Court orders new trial

Partington won the argument. The court ordered Granillo should get a new trial, finding both the hair and fiber matches were false evidence that influenced the jury.

“I’m delighted that somebody took up his cause and that the court came to the correct decision in my view,” Fabricant said.

The hair and fiber samples used in the original trial are no longer available, and witness memories have faded. Granillo has already spent 36 years in prison.

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Partington said he doubts Maui prosecutors will repeat the prosecution.

Granillo awaits the next step in Halawa Correctional Facility.