Metro

New research could free man convicted of deadly arson in 1989

A New York City clothing-store owner who has served nearly 25 years in prison after being convicted of setting a fire that killed his daughter may get a new trial or be released from prison because new arson research has cast doubt on his guilt.

Federal Magistrate Martin Carlson recommended that Han Tak Lee’s conviction be thrown out as dozens of cases are re-evaluated.

Researchers now believe that deep charring, blisters on wood and tiny cracks in windows are not reliable indicators of arson as was previously thought.

“Over the past two decades, there has been a revolution in fire science,” Carlson wrote June 13.

The recommendation still needs approval from a federal judge, and prosecutors are expected to file papers this week contending Lee should remain locked up.

Lee, 79, a South Korean immigrant, was convicted of first-degree murder and handed a life sentence without parole for the death of his mentally ill daughter.

Her charred remains were found in the small cabin she was sharing with her father in Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains on July 29, 1989.

At the trial, a fire marshal and other prosecution experts said physical evidence — including burn patterns and the presence of accelerants on Lee’s clothing — pointed to arson.

But those theories have been “substantially undermined” by the new research, according to Carlson.