Gone in the Night (1996 film)

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Gone in the Night
GenreDrama
Based onGone in the Night
by David Protess
Rob Warden
Written byBrian L. Ross
Directed by Bill L. Norton
Starring Shannen Doherty
Kevin Dillon
Ed Asner
Dixie Carter
Music by Joseph Conlan
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producersJoel Fields
Leonard Hill
Producers Bernadette Caulfield
Ardythe Goergens
Cinematography Robert Draper
EditorMark W. Rosenbaum
Running time190 minutes
Production company Hill-Fields Entertainment
Original release
Network CBS
ReleaseFebruary 25, 1996 (1996-02-25)

Gone in the Night is a 1996 American television film about the Jaclyn Dowaliby murder case, with Shannen Doherty and Kevin Dillon as Cynthia and David Dowaliby.

Contents

The Dowaliby Case

On September 10, 1988, 7 year-old Jaclyn Dowaliby was kidnapped from her home in the middle of the night. Two years later in 1990, Cynthia and Jaclyn's adoptive father David Dowaliby went on trial for the murder of their daughter. Cynthia was acquitted by the judge on grounds of insufficient evidence, but David was tried and convicted of his daughter's death and sentenced to a total of 45 years in prison. His conviction came partly because the jury was shown photographs of a closet door, with fist holes in it. It was later proven that this damage happened before David even moved into the house.

In 1991, David's conviction was overturned when the Illinois Appellate Court reversed the conviction outright, holding that the evidence against him had been no more probative than that against his wife. The murder of Jaclyn remains unsolved.

Cast