A Minnesota father has finally regained his freedom after spending 27 years in prison for a crime he never committed.

Bryan Hooper Sr. walked out of Stillwater Correctional Facility on Thursday, where he was greeted by his children with tears and hugs, after a court overturned his conviction in the 1998 killing of 77-year-old Ann Prazniak.

His release followed a shocking handwritten confession from Chalaka Young, who had been the main witness in the case. Young, now serving time for another crime in Georgia, admitted that she was the one who murdered Prazniak.

She said the guilt had been eating at her for years and she could no longer allow an innocent man to remain in prison for her actions.

Back in April 1998, Prazniak’s body was discovered in a cardboard box inside her Minneapolis apartment. She had been suffocated and was believed to have been dead for weeks before neighbors reported suspicious activity.

Investigators learned the apartment had been used for drugs and prostitution in the days before her body was found.

Although Young’s fingerprints were found inside the apartment, she denied killing Prazniak and instead blamed Hooper.

She told prosecutors he forced her to act as a lookout and threatened to harm her if she refused. For her cooperation, she received a reduced sentence in another case.

Hooper admitted to being inside the apartment, and his fingerprints were found in the living room, but he never stopped claiming his innocence.

His conviction was supported by testimonies from four other witnesses, who later admitted they had lied in exchange for benefits from authorities.

In July, Young finally wrote a full confession from prison. She said she could no longer live knowing an innocent man was paying for her crime.

She later repeated her admission to investigators and family members during recorded phone calls.

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty confirmed that Hooper did not commit the murder. She said while no one could give him back the decades he lost, the least they could do was set the record straight.

Hooper had been sentenced to three life terms with parole only possible after 30 years. Now free, he is beginning a new chapter of life with his children in Minnesota.

His daughter, Bri’ana, said the family had lost many birthdays, milestones, and holidays together, but they were determined not to lose any more time.

The murder case of Ann Prazniak has now been reopened for further investigation. Young, who still has four years left on her current prison term, has not yet been charged for the killing.