Darryl Hunt had always wanted to meet Nobel Prize-winning scientist Kary Mullis.
In 1983, Mullis developed a process that multiplies a single strain of DNA, allowing investigators to use tiny amounts of DNA to identify suspects in murders, sexual assaults and other crimes, and exclude other suspects.
Twenty years later, Mullis' process was used to free Hunt, who spent 18 years in prison for the 1984 killing of Deborah Sykes, a newspaper copy editor. On Wednesday, Hunt got the chance to meet Mullis when Mullis spoke at Wake Forest University.
"This was mind-blowing for me," Hunt said. "It shows how much of a blessing it is for me to meet the person who created the science that freed me."
Mullis talked about the process he developed to more than 230 people, including Hunt and his attorney, Mark Rabil, in the Byrum Welcome Center at WFU.
Before the lecture, Hunt and Rabil met with Mullis and his wife, Nancy.
"I really want you to meet Darryl Hunt, a DNA exoneree," Rabil said to Mullis. "We really wanted to meet you."
Hunt then shook Mullis' hand and chatted with him about his case. Rabil then told the couple how DNA evidence had led to Hunt's exoneration. Hunt, 46, was convicted of first-degree murder in Sykes' killing and served 18 years in prison before DNA evidence led to another suspect, Williard Brown, who confessed.
DNA testing first excluded Hunt in 1994 as the rapist, but Judge Melzer Morgan of Forsyth Superior Court ruled that the new evidence would not have made enough of a difference that a jury might have acquitted Hunt.
The Winston-Salem Journal published a series of articles in 2003 about Hunt's case that raised questions about his conviction. A lab again tested DNA samples in the case and that led investigators to identify Brown.
Mullis, a native of Lenoir, received the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1993 for his DNA invention, which is called polymerase chain reaction. The PCR technique multiples a single, microscopic strain of genetic material billions of times within hours, allowing investigators to make use of small amounts of genetic material.
During his 40-minute lecture, Mullis told the audience that his discovery was accidental. He was working as a chemist for Cetus Corp. in Emeryville, Calif., at the time.
"It just crept up on me," Mullis said. "Once I saw it, I said, 'It's going to be cool.' "
Mullis, 66, has received 25 patents for his work, including his PCR technology.
As he finished his lecture, Mullis pointed to Hunt, who was sitting in the front row and said, "There is the guy who was served by PCR. He got out of jail because of some crazy scientist in California who invented something."
The crowd laughed and applauded.
Afterward, Hunt said he was grateful to Mullis.
"He created something that saves lives," Hunt said. "I was one of those lives."
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