Vedam had been on the verge of being freed in October when ICE agents took him into custody and sought to deport him to India, which he left as a baby in 1962. Late last year, the prosecutor in State College declined to retry Vedam after a Centre County judge determined that relevant ballistics evidence had not been disclosed by prosecutors during Vedam's two trials. A DHS lawyer argued Vedam could still be deported on unrelated drug distribution convictions.
S. and was days away from becoming a naturalized citizen when he was arrested. Homeland Security has a month to appeal the judge's decision, and Vedam's lawyer, Ava Benach, indicated she plans to seek her client's release on bond.
Vedam hopes to live with a relative in Sacramento, California, and has been offered a spot in Oregon State University's doctoral program in applied anthropology. Vedam has been behind bars since 31 March 1982. Vedam and Thomas Kinser had been high school friends and both were 19 years old when Kinser disappeared.
Kinser was last seen alive after taking Vedam to buy drugs in December 1980, and his van was found outside his apartment in State College. It was more than nine months later that Kinser's body was found. Vedam turned down plea bargain offers during his first trial and prosecutors made similar overtures during his retrial, with both trials ending in first-degree murder convictions.