In Re: Payne, J., III Appeal of: Com. of Pa

OPINION BY

Herein, the Commonwealth appeals from the trial court’s order granting John Marshall Payne Ill’s request for DNA testing of physical evidence taken from the crime scene of the homicide for which Payne was convicted of second-degree (felony) murder and. related offenses. The Commonwealth contends the trial court erred when it found that there was a reasonable probability that the results of the testing could demonstrate Payne’s “actual innocence,” as is necessary to assert a successful claim under the DNA testing statute, 42 Pa.C.S. § 9543.1. Specifically, the Commonwealth argues that the- legal framework of Payne’s felony murder conviction precludes such a finding because, in *549order to ' convict him, the jury was not required to determine whether Payne was the principal actor. After careful consideration, we affirm the trial court’s order granting, testing.

The instant appeal concerns Payne’s pro se motion/petition titled “Post Conviction Relief Act petition seeking DNA testing pursuant to 42 Pa.C.S. § 9543.1,!’ which -he filed on June 14, 2012. However, the procedural history of this case began decades ago. In 1986, Payne was found guilty of second-degree murder, aggravated assault, burglary, and conspiracy,, after a trial adjudicating the following facts:

On December 17, 1981, the body of a 90 year-old woman, Elsie Rishel, was discovered in her home by members of her family. N.T., 8/18/86-8/22/86 (vol. II), at 406, The victim died as a result of blunt force trauma to the head from an unknown instrument, possibly a telephone found near her body. Id. at 417.1 Rishel’s body was found in her blood-soaked bed, with a pillow 'on top of her head. I'd. at 427. A trail of blood ran'down from her body to a pool of blood on the floor. Id. Rishel’s dentures and eyeglass'were left in the bathroom. Id.2

Evidence found at the scene was consistent with the theory that the murder had occurred during the commission of a burglary. Rishel’s residence appeared “ransacked,” with numerous drawers and trunks left open and their contents strewn about “haphazardly.” Id. at 427.3 A single set of footprints left in the snow around Rishel’s home led from the street, around the home,, and ultimately to a broken -window. Id. at 462-63. The window’s glass was broken inwards, from the outside. Id. at 446. A single set of footprints also ,led from the front door on a diagonal trajectory back to the street. Id. at 463. The lead investigator, Officer Robert Har-man of -the. Springettsbury Township Police Department, indicated that there was nothing identifiable obtained from the footprints that could be used for comparison to any suspects. Id.

. Ultimately, no physical evidence tied Payne to the Rishel burglary/murder; however, numerous pieces of physical evidence were collected from the scene of the crime. For instance, several fingerprints were recovered, although none of the recovered fingerprints matched Payne or his alleged co-conspirators. Id. at 441-42. Many of the fingerprints either belonged to the victim or her family members. Id. at 445. 'However, at least one unidentifiable partial- fingerprint was found on the glass from the broken window. Id. at 448-449. This evidence, as well as other items collected from the scené, were sent to the F.B.I. for testing.4

*550.In the absence of any physical evidence demonstrating his guilt, Payne’s conviction was premised primarily on the testimony of three Commonwealth witnesses: Deborah Wallick, Sonny Oglesby, and Christopher Gibson. Wallick, Oglesby, -and Gibson each purportedly heard Payne make inculpatory statements to theta, individually, concerning the Rishel burglary/murder. Although their accounts of Payne’s incul-patory remarks were consistent in' broad strokes, there were some significant details that varied between them. All three testified that Payne had told them that he was accompanied by two cohorts during the home invasion, and that a telephone had been used as the murder weapon.5 However, their stories differed considerably with regard to other matters, such as whether Payne had killed Rishel himself, as well as the identity of his co-conspirators.

Wallick’s, Oglesby’s, and Gibson’s credibility. were also suspect. Wallick could only vaguely; recall when and where Payne had incriminated himself. Id. at 480, 483, 494. Related, perhaps, was Wallick’s admission that she had been a heavy user of LSD at that time -when Payne, allegedly confessed to his involvement in the; burglary. Id. at 491. Additionally, Wallick had previously been convicted of hindering prosecution. Id. at 489.

Oglesby and Gibson were jailhouse informants who expected , to receive leniency in exchange for their testimony against Payne. At the time Of trial, Oglesby had pleaded guilty to third-degree murder in an unrelated case, and had yet to be sentenced for that crime. Id. at 520. Part of his plea bargain included his promise to testify 'against Payne regarding a conversation the two had in prison, in which Payne purportedly inculpated himself in Rishel’s' death. Id. at 528. As he had been charged - with homicide generally, Oglesby could have been convicted of first-degree murder in the absence of his plea. Id. at 529. Indeed, during cross-examination, Oglesby admitted he knew that the District -Attorney had intended to seek the death penalty against him if his ease had proceeded to trial. Id.

Additionally, Oglesby testified that police did not approach him about obtaining information against -Payne. Id. at 521. He claimed he volunteered the information to the District Attorney’s Office. Id. However, Officer Harman remembered things differently. He testified that he “fr]e-ceived street information that' there’s a possibility that Sonny Olgesby had some information pertaining to the homicide.” Id. at 459. Based on that,, information, Officer Harman “got in contact with Mr, Olgesby.” Id. at 460.

*551Gibson was charged with robbery, criminal conspiracy, and firearm offenses before entering a plea bargain just prior to Payne’s trial. Id. at 545. In exchange for his testimony against Payne, Gibson pled guilty to a single theft offense and received “county time.” Id. at 550-51, 557. Gibson testified that he had a conversation with Payne in the prison library on. August 15, 1980, just three days before the beginning of Payne’s trial. Id. at 546. Gibson claimed that Payne approached him in the library and asked him what he thought of his legal strategy of deflecting blame for the murder of Rishel onto Rishel’s grandson. Id. Gibson said he asked Payne “who really done it and he said himself and two other individuals.... ” Id. Gibson also claimed that Payne had asked him a month and a half prior to the August 15th conversation about finding someone to testify that Payne had been employed during the month when Rishel was murdered. Id. at 548.

None of these witnesses had any independent knowledge regarding the killing of Elsie Rishel apart from Payne’s inculpato-ry statements, and Payne produced, multiple witnesses to rebut Gibson’s and Ogles-by’s testimony. The first of these defense witnesses was Wendell Murray. Murray testified that he assisted Payne in the prison law library on August 15, 1986, the same day Gibson purportedly had a conversation there with Payne. Id. at 578, Murray said that he and Payne were engaged in a discussion of Payne’s case on that day. Id. Murray suggested that Gibson could have learned details of the case by overhearing Payne’s conversation with Murray in the close quarters of the prison library. Id. Nevertheless, Murray said Payne maintained his innocence in their conversations and, on that specific day, Payne had not spoken directly to Gibson at all. Id. at 578-79. Murray also said that Gibson and Oglesby knew each other, and that he had observed them-secretly conversing with one another in the prison courtyard the following day. Id. at 580-81.

William Jones, another defense witness, had been in the same pod as Oglesby, and said that he and Oglésby became “close” while in prison together. Id. at 589. He testified that Oglesby told him that Ogles-by had learned many of the details concerning Payne’s case from Officer Har-man, and not from.his conversation with Payne. Id. at 589-90. These details included a telephone being used ás a murder weapon and the name of one of Payne’s co-conspirators. Id. at 590. Jones also indicated that, in the week before Payne’s trial, he had seen Oglesby and Gibson speaking together for two hours in the prison courtyard while secluded from the rest of the inmates. Id. at 590-91.

Payne testified in .his own defense, and denied any lev.el of., participation in the burglary or killing of Rishel. Id. at 610—42. He said he did no.t learn that he was a suspect until 1983, and simply did npt recall where he was when the crime was committed. He also, denied making any inculpatory statements to Wallick, Ogles-by, and Gibson. Nevertheless, based primarily on the testimony of those three witnesses, a .jury convicted Payne of the above-mentioned offenses. On March 23, 1987, the trial court sentenced Payne to a mandatory term of life in prison.

Payne filed a timely direct, appeal, and this Court affirmed his judgment of sentence in a memorandum decision filed on February 29, 1988. Commonwealth v. John M. Payne, III, No. 413 Harrisburg 1987, unpublished memorandum at 4, 377 Pa.Super. 655, 541 A.2d 1153 (filed February 29, 1988)., It is unclear from the record whether Payne sought review of that decision with our Supreme Court.

*552Soon thereafter, Payne sought production of certain' documents held by the Commonwealth for the purpose of pursuing post-conviction relief. See Motion for Production of Documents Nunc Pro Tunc, 8/5/88-. The trial court denied the motion, and Payne filed a timely appeal from that decision. This Court affirmed, concluding that the trial court did not err in denying Payne’s motion as he was not entitled to discovery for post-conviction relief where ho post-conviction petition was pending before the trial court. See Commonwealth v. John M. Payne, 624 Harrisburg 1988, unpublished memorandum at 1-2 (Pa.Super. filed May 15, 1989), allocatur denied, 45 M.D. Misc. Dkt.1990 (January 23, 1991).

Payne subsequently filed his first PCRA6 petition on June 7, 1991, wherein Payne continued to assert his innocence. See Payne’s 1991 PCRA Petition, 6/7/91, at 3 (stating “Petitioner has maintained throughout all proceedings that he is innocent of -the charges that were brought against him ... ”). The 1991 PCRA petition was denied on June 25, 1992, and Payné filed a timely pro se appeal. This Court affirmed “the dismissal of - all of [Payne]’s PCRA claims except those regarding his judgments of sentence for conspiracy, burglary, and robbery.” Commonwealth v. John M. Payne, No. 00581 Harrisburg 1992, unpublished memorandum at 18, 431 Pa.Super. 621, 631 A.2d 216 (filed April 30,1993).7 Notably, this Court reversed Payne’s conviction for conspiracy, holding that the statute of limitations for that offense had expired when Payne was chárged with it in 1986:

The instant crimes occurred on December 17, 1981. The applicable statute of limitations for conspiracy was two'years. 42 Pa.C.S. § 5552(a). On December 14, 1984[,] 42 Pa.C.S. § 5551 was amended to provide that if a murder occurred then there is no statute of limitations regarding a conspiracy charge. The amendment did not apply to [Payne] since his crimes occurred three years prior to the amendment. [Payne] was not charged until January, 1986 with the instant crimes. Hence, the statute of limitations had run on the conspiracy charge. His trial counsel was ineffective for failing to raise this issue and we find that the [PCRA] court erred in finding that counsel was effective.'

Id. at 9. This Court also found that double jeopardy barred Payne’s sentence for burglary, as he had already been convicted and sentenced for felony murder. Id. at 16. On remand, the trial court resen-tenced Payne, on July 5, 1994, for the unrelated robbery conviction.8

On June 14, 2012, Payne filed a pro se motion/petition titled “Post Conviction Relief Act petition seeking DNA testing pursuant to 42 Pa.C.S. § 9543.1” (hereinafter, “Payne’s Petition for DNA Testing” or “the Petition”).9 The trial court10 appoint*553ed counsel to represent him, and a hearing was held on the matter on February 19, 2013. Subsequently; on May 23, 2013, the trial court issued an order granting Payne’s Petition for DNA. Testing. The Commonwealth filed a timely notice of appeal from that order and filed.a timely, court-ordered Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b) statement of errors complained of op. appeal. The trial court issued its Rule 1925(a) opinion on August 15, 2013.

The Commonwealth’s appeal was initially heard by a three-judge panel of this Court. In an unpublished memorandum, a majority of the panel affirmed on the basis of the trial court’s Rule 1925(a) opinion, holding that the trial court’s order granting DNA testing was supported by the evidence of record and free of legal error. The panel majority also opined that the trial court was presented with factors militating both in favor of and against DNA testing under the applicable standard, and the court had reasonably applied' its discretion to grant testing in the circumstances of this case. See In re: John Marshall Payríe, III, 1113 MDA 2013 (Pa.Super. filed October 3, 2014) (unpublished memorandum) (withdrawn by order granting en banc review on December 16, 2014). One judge dissented, agreeing with the Commonwealth that the jury’s verdict could withstand any possible result of DNA testing. Id. (J. Bowes dissenting). The Commonwealth subsequently filed a timely "request for en banc argument, which was granted by per curiam order dated December 16, 2014. As a result of that order, the October 3, 2014 memorandum decision was withdrawn. Oral argument before the instant en banc panel occurred on June 29,2015;

The Commqnwealth now presents the following question for our review:

Whether the court below .erred as a matter of law in determining that DNA testing would produce exculpatory evidence that would establish [AppelleeJ’s actual innocence?

Commonwealth’s Resubmitted Brief (“Commonwealth's. Brief’), 6/30/15, at 4 (unnecessary capitalization omitted).

“Post conviction DNA testing falls under the aegis of the [PCRA],[11] *554and thus, ‘[o]ur standard of review permits us to consider only whether the PCRA court’s determination is supported by the evidence of record and whether it is free from-legal error.’” Conway, 14 A.3d at 108 (quoting Brooks, 875 A.2d at 1144). Additionally, where “the resolution of this appeal - involves statutory construction, which involves a pure question of law, we review that aspect of the trial court’s decision de novo and our scope of review is plenary.” Id. Moreover, “the -DNA .testing statute, which was passed unanimously by the Pennsylvania General Assembly, should be regarded, as a remedial statute and interpreted liberally in favor .of the class of citizens who were intended to directly benefit therefrom, ' namely, those wrongly convicted of a crime.” Id. at 113.

The pertinent statutory language at issue is'as follows:

(a) Motion.—

(1) An individual convicted of a criminal offense in a court of this Commonwealth and serving a term of imprisonment or awaiting execution because of a sentence of death -may apply by making a written motion to the sentencing court for the performance of forensic DNA testing on specific evidence that is related to, the investigation-or-.prosecution that resulted in the judgment of conviction.

(2) The evidence may have been discovered either prior to or after the applicant’s conviction. The evidence shall be available for testing as of the 'date of the motion. If the evidence was discovered prior to the applicant’s conviction, the evidence shall not have been subject to the DNA testing requested because the technology" for testing was not in existence, at the time of the trial or the applicant’s counsel ■ did not seek testing at the time of the trial in a case where a verdict was rendered on or before January 1, 1995, or the applicant’s counsel sought funds from the court to pay for the testing because his- client was indigent and the court refused the request despite the cliéht’s indigency.

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(c) Requirements. — In any motion under subsection (a), under penalty of perjury, the applicant shall:

(l)(i) specify the evidence to.be tested; •

(ii) state that the applicant consents to provide samples of bodily fluid for use in the DNA testing; and

acknowledge that the applicant understands that, if the motion is granted, any data obtained from .any DNA samples or test results may be entered into law enforcement databases, may be used in the investigation of other crimes and may be used as evidence against the applicant in other cases.

(2)(i) assert the applicant’s actual innocence of thq' offense for which the applicant was convicted;

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(d) Order.—

(1) Except as provided in, paragraph (2), the court -shall order the testing requested in a motion -under subsection (a) under reasonable conditions designed to..preserve the integrity of the evidence'and the testing’process upon á determination, after review of the record of the applicant’s trial, that the: >

*555(i) requirements of subsection- (c) have been met;

(ii) evidence to be tested has been subject to a chain of custody sufficient to establish that it has not been altered in any material respect; and

(iii) motion is made in a timely manner and for the purpose of demonstrating -the applicant’s actual -innocence and not to • delay the execution of sentence or administration of justice.

(2) The court shall not order the testing requested in a motion under subsection (a) if, after -review of -the record of the applicant’s trial, the court determines that there is no reasonable possibility that the testing would produce exculpatory evidence that:

(i) would establish the applicant’s actual' innocence - of. the offense for which the applicant was convicted;

42 Pa.C.S. § 9543.1 (“DNA Statute”).

The sole issue presented for our review concerns the application of the standard set forth in Section 9543.1(d)(2) and 9543.1(d)(2)(i).12 Stated briefly, .the *556interplay between these provisions requires that DNA testing “shall not” be ordered by the PCRA court if there is “no reasonable possibility that the 'testing would produce exculpatory evidence” that “would establish ,.: actual innocence of the offense for which the applicant was convicted.”

Section 9543.1 frequently incorporates, yet fails to define, the term “actual innocence.” In Conway, 14 A.3d at 109, this Court applied a definition of ‘actual innocence’ taken from “the United States Supreme Court in its Opinion in Schlup v. Delo, 513 U.S. 298, 327, 115 S.Ct. 851, 130 L.Ed.2d 808 (1995), namely, that the newly discovered [DNA] evidence must make it ‘more likely than not that no reasonable juror would have found him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.’ ”

Payne filed a pró se petition pursuant to Section 9543.1(a)(1) seeking DNA testing of several items collected from the scene of the December 1981 killing of Rishel. Specifically, Appellant sought testing of the following items, which have been retained and preserved by the F.B.I.:

• Brown head hairs exhibiting Caucasian characteristics found on' Rishel’s bedsheet and nightgown, which the F.B.I. determined did not match the victim.

*557• Numerous blood samples taken from various locations in Rishel’s bed and bedroom.

• One brown pubic hair, exhibiting Caucasian characteristics, found on a blanket on the victim’s bed.

Payne’s Petition for DNA Testing, at 10 ¶10.

The trial court ultimately granted Payne’s “request to perform DNA testing on the evidence listed” in the Petition. Trial Court Opinion (TCO), 5/22/13, at 2. In reaching that conclusion, the trial court dismissed the notion' that the failure to match Payne’s DNA to the tested materials would demonstrate his innocence. Id. at 9 (“It is entirely possible, through luck or concealment, that [Payne] left no DNA behind.”): However, the court recognized that Payne’s Petition for DNA Testing was not limited to that theory. Payne .also presented a “data bank” theory as a basis for testing, as discussed in Conway. This theory “postulates that any DNA results that are obtained from DNA testing that prove the presence of an unknown person could be run through state and federal data banks for a match, which, if successful, would lead to the identification of a separate assailant[.]” Conway, 14 A.3d at 110.

Assuming exculpatory results under this “data bank” theory, ie., the discovery of a heretofore unknown assailant, the trial court next considered whether such results might demonstrate Payne’s actual innocence. The trial court found that such a determination “turns upon the nature of the evidence offered at trial.” TCO, at 10. After analyzing the weight of the trial evidence demonstrating guilt, the trial court concluded that “[a] jury might indeed have placed more' emphasis on the weaknesses of [the] Commonwealth’s case if there were DNA evidence introduced and it did' not directly tie [Payne] to the murder scene.” Id. at 12.

The trial court then went on to offer a secondary, policy-based reason to conduct DNA testing in this case:

Considering all of the above that is' both for and' against testing,- the very best reason to test the evidence is the fact that the witnesses who testified regarding confessions all agreed on one salient point, namely, that there were three individuals who perpetrated the robbery that night. ' As such,’ DNA testing, in this case, may result - in additional charges and bringing to justice all guilty parties. Perhaps it would be a perversion of the PCRA statute, as it relates to DNA, if [Payne]’s request were to be granted, under the auspices of a . statute designed'to aid the wrongly convicted, in order to further [the] Commonwealth’s own -interests. However, it is. curious indeed that, [the] Commonwealth’s position at [Payne]’s- trial. was. that there were three intruders into the victim’s home, but that no testing should be done on available evidence when two of those intruders remain unknown and potentially on. the -loose. In point of fact, were the Commonwealth to appeal a ruling in favor of testing it might be inadvertently aiding other perpetrators .to escape culpability,.

TCO, at 12-13.

Presently, the Commonwealth argues that the trial court erred in granting Payne’s Pétition for DNA Testing:

In the instant case, [Payne] advanced two arguments in the court below for establishing his actual innocence: (1) there will be a lack of DNA evidence tying [him] to the murder, and such absence of evidence will prove that he was not present at the crime scene; and (2) DNA testing-will establish the identity of the actual assailant thereby elimi*558nating .[Payne] as the , assailant. The Commonwealth maintains that both arguments are flawed and do not mandate the granting of DNA testing.

Commonwealth’s Brief, at 19.

The first scenario addressed by the Commonwealth concerns a potential result, of DNA testing that merely demonstrates the absence of Payne’s DNA in the tested materials.. The, Commonwealth argues that such a result — the mere absence of the accused’s DNA — would never-justify DNA testing under Section 9543.1. We agree.with the Commonwealth that this Court has routinely held that the absence of the accused’s DNA, by itself, cannot satisfy Section 9543.1(d)(2)(i)’s “actual-innocence”-standard. . *' '

For instance, in Commonwealth v. Heilman, 867 A.2d 542, 547 (Pa.Super.2005), the victim, Tamara Scott, died in 1987 from three gunshot wounds to her head. Id. at 543.- Initially, Heilman and Jerry Dixon told police that Alex Dean had killed her. Id. Later, Dixon recanted his statement; and revealed “that he and [Heilman] concocted the story blaming Mr. Dean while Heilman and Dixon were incarcerated together in the Allegheny County Jail[.]” Id. The -“true” story, Dixon testified, was that while “acting"as [a] jitney driver, [Dixon] took [Heilman] and Ms. Scott, who was a prostitute picked up by [Heilman] in the downtown section of the city, to a parking lot on the northside of the .city. [Heilman] and Ms. Scott, exited the vehicle and went behind a building. A short time later, Mr. Dixon heard gun shots and [Heilman] returned to the vehicle alone.” Id. at 544. [Heilman] was convicted of criminal homicide and gun charges. For those offenses, Heilman was sentenced in 1990.

In 2003, Heilman appealed from the trial court’s denial of his motion for DNA testing filed pursuant to Section 9543.1. On appeal, this Court noted that Heilman’s “entire argument depended] on th[e] premise” that “an absence of DNA evidence would conclusively absolve him of culpability.” Id. at 545. Specifically, Heil-man argued that ‘“[t]he killer obviously beat the victim about her face and then shot her at close range’ and ‘obviously had sex with her ... before he killed her,’ ” and thus Heilman “insisted] that if he had murdered the victim, ‘his DNA would have been all over that crime scene (including the, victim’s body and her clothing).’” Id. at 546. However, the. trial court rejected his argument, noting that even if semen not belonging to Heilman were found in any of the evidence collected from the victim or her clothing, .the fact that the victim was a prostitute precluded such evidence from effectively demonstrating Heil-man’s “actual innocence.” Id.

This Court agreed and affirmed the trial court’s denial of Heilman’s request for DNA testing, reasoning:

Although we have already acknowledged .'.. the paucity of precedent on the question - presented, that does not free Heilman from the obligation to provide more than a bald assertion based on an unintuitive scientific premise. On its face, the prima facie requirement set forth in § 9543.1(c)(3) and reinforced in § 9543.1(d)(2) requires an appellant to demonstrate that favorable results of the requested DNA testing “would establish” the appellant’s actual innocence of the crime of conviction. Heilman has failed to make such a demonstration, nor could he. In DNA as in other areas, an absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. Furthermore, a murder suspect may be convicted on wholly circumstantial evidence, of which there. was plenty in this case. .

Id. at 546-47. There was no evidence that Scott’s killer had intercourse with her pri- *559or to shooting her three times in the head, nor was there evidence that Scott struggled with her assailant before- she was killed. Thus, the absence of Heilman’s DNA in, on, or about the victim’s body and/or the crime scene was inconsequential in the context of the facts supporting his conviction in that case.

Similarly, in Commonwealth v. Smith, 889 A.2d 582, 586 (Pa.Super.2005), we stated that “the absence of [the] -appellant’s DNA [in or on the evidence to be subjected to testing] cannot be meaningful and cannot establish his actual innocence of the murder.” Smith sought Section 9543.1 DNA testing of his victim’s fingernails, hoping to demonstrate the absence of his own DNA or the presence of - another’s. However, there was “no evidentiary basis on which to infer that any DNA detected on the -victim’s ■ fingernails was deposited there by her assailant during the fatal attack.” Id. at 585. Thus, the absence of Smith’s DNA could not be meaningful where he could not establish any evidentia-ry basis upon which to believe that the victim’s assailant’s DNA should be in, on, or about the evidence available for testing.

In Brooks, the appellant was convicted of killing the victim, Ethel Mümma, who was shot in the head and stomach. Brooks, 875 A.2d at 1146. In his Section 9543.1 petition, Brooks sought testing of “blood found on any of the blood stained material, including hair fibers or skin tissue which may have been found or [were] found on the victim or victim’s clothing.” Id. However, no evidence of record supported the contention that the perpetrator had left behind biological material. Id. at 1147, Relying on Heilman, the Brooks Court concluded that “even if [the] appellant’s DNA was not at the crime scene, it would prove nothing.” Id.

Thus,’ as Heilman, Smith, and Brooks demonstrate, this Court has consistently held that the absence of a petitioner’s DNA, by itself, cannot demonstrate “actual innocence” for purposes of Section 9543.1(d)(2)(i). Yet, the quantum of evidence necessary to satisfy - Section 9543.1(d)(2)(i) above and beyond the absence of the petitioner’s DNA has never been explicitly defined.13 In this regard, we are not aware of any authority that holds or suggests that demonstration of “actual innocence” under Section 9543.1(d)(2)(i) requires a discovery of DNA from someone other than the petitioner. Instead, the quantum of evidence necessary to satisfy Section 9543.1(d)(2)(i) above and beyond the absence of the petitioner’s DNA has been, and should continue to be, determined on a casé-by-case basis, as circumstances dictate. - Such circumstances might include the presence of another person’s DNA, but hot necessarily so. It is at least conceivable that certain' circumstances or facts, in addition to or in conjunction with the absence of the petitioner’s DNA in a particular location, may satisfy Section’9543.1(d)(2)(i).14 However, *560to the extent that the Commonwealth asserts that the absence of Payne’s DNA on the items to be tested would not, by itself, establish a prima facie case that he is actually innocent, we agree. Additionally, there aré no circumstances in this case that,- in combination with the absence of Payne’s DNA in a specific location, would demonstrate his actual innocence.

However, Payne did not merely suggest in the Petition that the absence of his DNA on the items to be tested would, by itself, demonstrate his. actual innocence of the crime for which he was convicted. While he does assert that the absence of his DNA would be exculpatory, he also asserts that DNA testing .might reveal the identity of the person who actually killed the victim. Payne’s Petition for DNA Testing, at 4-5 ¶ 2 (“Here, Petitioner John Payne asserts that the requested DNA evidence would show the absence of his DNA but Petitioner Payne says more. Petitioner avers that comparison of the DNA profile to state and national databases would reveal the identity of the likely killer.”) (emphasis omitted).

The Commonwealth argues Payne’s “data bank” theory still fails to meet his burden under the DNA Statute because he was convicted as a member of a conspiracy to burglarize the victim’s home. In this regard, the Commonwealth contends that “[a]ny evidence produce by DNA testing that revealed the presence of a person other than [Payne] at the crime scene would not establish [Paynejs innocence because inherent in the juror’s verdict was a finding that there were others besides [Payne] who were involved in the killing of Elsie Rishel.” Resubmitted Appellate Brief for the Commonwealth (hereinafter “Commonwealth’s Brief’), at 15. Explaining further, the Commonwealth states:

[Payne]’s second argument rests on the “data bank” theory discussed in ... Conway.... In Conway, this Court explained that the “data bank” theory rests on the assertion that “that any DNA results that are obtained from DNA testing that prove the presence of an unknown person could be run through state and federal databanks for a match, which, if successful, would lead to the identification of a separate assailant.” [Conway ], 14 A.3d at 110. What [Payne]’s argument overlooks is the fact that [he] was convicted of criminal conspiracy, meaning jurors specifically found that [Payne] acted in concert with other individuals to commit the crime of felony murder. The Commonwealth’s theory, supported by three witnesses who testified that [Payne] confessed to committing the killing with two accomplices, was that there were three intruders into the victim’s home. Thus, even if DNA testing identified one of [Payne]’s two accomplices, those test results would not establish [Payne]’s actu-’ al innocence, because [Payne]’s guilt was predicated on the possibility that evidence linking others to the scene might exist. The court below rejected that aspect of [Payne]’s argument, too_

Commonwealth’s Brief, at 20-21.

We disagree. The Commonwealth’s theory, despite significantly narrowing the array of potentially exculpatory results from DNA testing, is not completely dispositive of Payne’s request for DNA testing, as discussed below. First, the applicability of the Commonwealth’s theory to the instant case is questionable since this Court reversed Payne’s conviction for conspiracy in 1993. See Commonwealth v. John M. Payne, No. 00581 Harrisburg 1992, unpub*561lished memorandum at 9-10, 431 Pa.Super. 621, 631 A.2d 216 (filed April 30, 1993) (finding trial counsel ineffective for failing to seek to quash the conspiracy charge due to the then-in-effect statute of limitations). As such, it is simply disingenuous for the Commonwealth to rely upon the jury’s specific findings regarding Payne’s participation in a conspiracy when' Payne’s conviction for that crime was overturned after that verdict was issued. Furthermore, if the Commonwealth were to retry Payne in this case, it will, be precluded from charging him with conspiracy on double jeopardy grounds. -Thus, the Commonwealth’s theory-r-that the identification.of an unexplainable DNA profile in the tested evidence would, not serve to demonstrate Payne’s actual innocence because of his conspiracy conviction — appears to fail on its face in the context of this case. Moreover, the Commonwealth has simply not offered any basis upon which to suggest that this Court can simply ignore that Payne’s conspiracy conviction no longer stands.

Second, even if Payne’s conspiracy conviction survived, the Commonwealth’s claim must fail.15 The Commonwealth’s argument top narrowly construes the nature of Payne’s claim of innocence, in effect suggesting that Payne is only challenging his conviction for murder, but not his culpability as an accomplice or a co-conspirator to burglary. ' However, Payne has asserted his actual innocence for all offenses for which he was convicted in this case. The Commonwealth argues that Payne can never demonstrate actual innocence because of his conspiracy and/or ae-complice-to-burglary convictions, but fails to explain why or how those undérlying offenses are immune from scrutiny given certain exculpatory DNA results (notwithstanding the fact that Payne’s conviction for conspiracy has already been overturned). Payne has maintained consistently that, not only did he not kill Rishel, but that he was not a participant in the burglary of her home. Without a doubt, results of DNA testing that merely show that Payne did not leave his DNA at the crime scene, in the absence of any other evidence, would not entitle him to a new trial. However, the question before the trial court was .whether to grant Payne’s Petition for DNA Testing, which demands an inquiry into whether there is “no reasonable possibility that the testing would produce exculpatory evidence to establish petitioner’s actual innocence[,]” Smith, 889 A.2d at 584, not whether a particular result, .or category of results, would entitle him. to a new trial. ..As discussed below, the Commonwealth appears to consider only potential results of DNA testing that are, in the context of the specific facts of this case, not exculpatory. However, the statute itself dictates that the trial court assume exculpatory results in evaluating a petition for DNA testing. Conway, 14 A.3d at 110 (“[T]he statutory language requires . reviewing courts .to evaluate the ‘actual innocence of the offense’ component by ‘assuming exculpatory results’ will be obtained from the.proposed testing.”); 42 Pa.C.S. § 9543.1(c)(3)(ii).

Third, the Commonwealth does not adequately explain why D.NA' testing that shows an unexplained DNA profile (or profiles) in the victim/s bed would only serve *562to attack Payne’s, identity as the actual killer, but not his identity as a co-conspirator or accomplice to the crime of burglary. It, is not beyond the realm of imagination that certain results could also undermine the Commonwealth’s theory that Payne acted as an accomplice. Here, the most powerful evidence of Payne’s guilt of all offenses was his purported confessions to Wallick, Oglesby, and Gibson. Through the testimony of those three individuals,' it was established that Payne had acted with the help of two accomplices or co-conspirators, but no independent physical or circumstantial evidence of multiple burglars corroborates their testimony, Wallick was unaware of the accomplices’ names, but believed that Payne had told her the accomplices were two men. Payne purportedly told Oglesby that his accomplices were a man named Danny Edwards and Payne’s ex-girlfriend, Melody. Gibson’s testimony established that Payne had two accomplices, one of which was named “Danny.”

Thus, there are a limited number of potential DNA profiles that would tend to outright support the Commonwealth’s case against Payne. First, and most obviously, would be the discovery of Payne’s DNA profile in the evidence to be tested. Second, discovery of the DNA profile of Danny Edwards and/or “Melody” would, in the context of the Commonwealth’s evidence, not tend to prove Payne’s actual innocence. Third, if testing of the head and pubic hairs results in matches to. the victim’s close relatives, or other persons with routine access to her home, such • evidence would also be difficult to construe 'as exculpatory.16

. However, these scenarios are not the only possible results of DNA testing. It is not difficult to imagine, however unlikely, results that could deal a devastating blow to the soundness of the jury’s verdict in this, case, including whether or not- there were multiple burglars — a fact entirely dependent on -the credibility-of Wallick, Oglesby, and* Gibson. If testing were to reveal the DNA profiles of Wallick, Ogles-by, ahd/or Gibson, such results would not only be exculpatory, but could serve to completely undermine the Commonwealth’s case against Payne. Similarly, if the DNA results were to match'some’heretofore unknown 'culprit with a history of burglary-murders which bear a striking resemblance to the killing of Rishel, and further investigation reveals that person had the opportunity to commit this crime, such results could easily allow Payne to demonstrate the unreliability of the jury’s verdict in toto,17 The Commonwealth’s argument, while internally consistent given a relatively narrow scope of potential outcomes considered, simply ignores other potential outcomes that could permit Payne to demonstrate.a prima facie case that he is actually innocent.

*563We must emphatically state that, with respect to the burden on a Section 9543.1 petitioner, “no reasonable probability” does not mean, “no likely probability.” It should go without saying that the most likely result of Section 9543.1 DNA testing will corroborate a petitioner’s guilt, confirm it outright, or simply fail to cast significant doubt on the verdict. However, the very purpose of Section 9543.1 must be to afford a petitioner the opportunity to demonstrate the unlikely.18 The threshold question is, therefore, not the likelihood of proof of innocence, but whether-it is within the realm of reason that some result(s) could prove innocence. In Heilman, Smith, and Brooks, this Court sensibly determined that it was simply not reasonable to believe that any DNA test results, even those presumed to be exculpatory, could demonstrate a prima facie case of actual innocence of those Section 9543.1 petitioners.

In Conway, by contrast, this Court reached a different result. Conway was convicted of stabbing Michele Capitano to death in 1986. Stated briefly, on the- day of the murder, Conway left his home-to run some errands for himself and his wife. He returned home 90-minutes later and told his wife he had discovered a body at a local surgical supply store. The victim had been, raped and murdered. Conway tojd her that he attempted-to untie the bound victim, but after failing in that attempt, he returned home before notifying authorities of his gruesome discovery. Conway was charged and ultimately convicted of killing Capitano based upon numerous suspicious circumstances. Years later, Conway sought testing under Section 9543.1 of several items preserved from the crime scene.19 The trial court denied his request, but this Co.urt reversed that decision on appeal.

With regard to its analysis under. Section, 9543.1, the Conway Court pointed to the following “salient” facts:

'• [Conway] was convicted solely on cir- ■ -cumstantial evidence.

• [Conway] does not deny that he was present at the murder scene — in fact he claims to have discovered-the body, arid subsequently advised his wife to report the crime to the police.

• [Conway], on the day of the homicide, provided a statement 'to the police in which he admitted touching the body *564of the deceased victim for the purpose of determining whether she was alive.

• The Commonwealth did not introduce any DNA or other scientific evidence tying [Conway] to the body of the victim or the location — specifically the bathroom — where the body was discovered.

Conway, 14 A.3d at 109.

Conway advanced three theories of why DNA testing was warranted under Section 9543.1:

(1) a “redundancy” theory, which postulates that if the individual DNA tests reveal evidence of a third person on multiple items connected with the crime, then those “redundant” results would give rise to an inference of-a separate assailant; (2) a “data bank” theory, which postulates that any DNA results that are obtained from DNA testing-that prove the presence of an unknown person could be run through state and federal data banks for a match,. which, if successful, would lead to the identification of a separate assailant; and (3) a “confession” theory, which postulates that an assailant who is discovered by using the data bank theory could, when confronted with the DNA evidence, confess to the crime.

Id. at 110.

The Commonwealth countered that testing would be inappropriate because 1) “any results produced by DNA testing would be too ‘speculative,’ ” and 2) the “overwhelming” nature of the circumstantial evidence. Id. The Conway Court quickly rejected the second aspect of the Commonwealth’s argument, stating that the “relative weight of the Commonwealth[’s] circumstantial evidence would obviously be outweighed by the discovery of relevant DNA evidence constituting substantial direct evidence of the identity of a separate assailant.” Id.

Next, the Conway Court addressed the Commonwealth’s speculative-results argument, which included the Commonwealth’s assertion that Conway’s “data bank” theory had been held in Smith to be unavailable to Section • 9543.1 petitioners. The Conway Court rejected that interpretation of Smith. The Conway panel instead determined that the Smith Court’s holding was “clearly grounded in the facts of that case” and was not a precedential foreclosure on all future “data bank” theory claims. Id. at 112 (“[T]his Court’s perfunctory dismissal of the data bank argument in Smith, was not the precedential holding of that case. Rather, it was a sui generis rejection of an. alternative argument offered by that defendant, and its impact should be confined to the facts and circumstances of that case.”)

The Conway Court went on to examine the specific facts of that case, as well as overarching policy considerations, in concluding that Conway was entitled to DNA testing:

. Here, ... the evidence produced at trial, with the exception of the testimony of the jailhouse informant, was wholly circumstantial, and there was no prior history between the parties that would have suggested the occurrence of the violent incident that resulted in the decedent’s death. Moreover, the victim’s hands were tied with a cloth that would have most likely been in contact with the assailant’s hands, and her clothing was ripped in such a way that indicated extensive contact with the hands of her assailant. Additionally, the investigators at the scene collected a multitude of sample material from the victim under the belief that she may have had contact with the skin of her assailant. Thus, there is no question that the development of additional evidence — evidence that can be easily obtained by DNA testing — will add to the reliability of the reconstruction of the events of that tragic day.

*565The question that we must here confront is whether, in this situation, the Pennsylvania DNA testing statute should be interpreted in such a way as to prevent the comparison of easily obtainable test results with known data banks for the purpose of determining the person responsible for the crime in question. To pose the question is to provide the answer, for in this evolving world of. increased DNA data collections, and the increased reliance thereon by law enforcement agencies, we should not summarily preclude defense counsel from , using the data compiled in those “banks” to argue, in appropriate cases, that such evidence establishes the innocence of a person who has been charged or convicted of a crime. This is especially so since the Act specifically provides for the proactive use of this information by the Commonwealth in an effort to find and prosecute persons whose identities are revealed by this information. • -

Id. at 112-13.

As was the case' in Conway, there is a complete lack of physical evidence tying Payne to the crime scene. However, in comparison to Conway, there is far less circumstantial evidence suggestive of Payne’s guilt than there was circumstantial evidence suggestive of Conway’s guilt. The strength of the Commonwealth’s case in this matter rested on the credibility of three witnesses to Payne’s confessions. Yet, in Cqmvay,- there was also a jailhouse informant who purportedly, overheard Conway admit t.o. killing the victim. All in all, the weight of the evidence in Conway demonstrating Conway’s guilt appears at least as. great, if not greater, than the weight of evidence of Payne’s guilt in this matter.20

As in Conway, too, there is clearly some evidence available in this case for testing *566that could point to the identity of Rishel’s assailant. Particularly, the hairs discovered in Rishel’s bed are already known not to belong to her. Thus, the facts of the present case appear to offer at least as good an argument for testing as was presented in Conway. In this regard, this case bears a far closer resemblance to the facts of Conway than it does to Heilman, Smith, and Brooks. Accordingly, we conclude that the trial court’s decision to grant DNA testing pursuant to Section 9543.1 was supported by the evidence of record.

■ The essence of the Commonwealth’s claim in this matter is ultimately, therefore, a legal question. The Commonwealth’s argument/theory is that based on conspiracy or accomplice-based liability, the presence of 'another assailant in this case cannot demonstrate Payne’s actual innocence. As discussed above, the Commonwealth’s argument in this regard is simply overstated. While Appellant’s felony murder conviction certainly limits the array of DNA testing results that could assist..in proving his innocence, it does not exclude them all. Accordingly, we conclude that the trial court’s decision was also free of legal error.

Order affirmed.

Judges PANELLA, DONOHUE', SHOGAN, LAZARUS and MUNDY join this opinion.

President Judge GANTMAN files" a dissenting opinion in which Judge STABILE concurs in the result.

Judge STABILE files a dissenting opinion in which President Judge GANTMAN concurs in the result.

Judge ALLEN did not participate in the consideration or decision of this case'.