 Nickell continued to maintain her innocence after her trial . An appeal based on jury @-@ tampering and judicial misconduct issues was rejected by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in August 1989 . A second appeal , beginning in 2001 with the assistance of Innocence Project and private detectives Al Farr and Paul Ciolino , requested a new trial on the basis of new evidence having been discovered that the FBI may have withheld documents from the defense . The appeal was denied , though Nickell and her team continue to assert her innocence . She claims that her daughter Cynthia lied about Nickell 's involvement in the case in order to reap the $ 300 @,@ 000 of reward money being offered . Cynthia Hamilton eventually collected $ 250 @,@ 000 of that money . Nickell also alleges that the testimony of various smaller cogs in the case , such as the store owner who testified about her having purchased Algae Destroyer , was influenced by promises of payment . 
