SUMMIT COUNTY, Ohio -- A Summit County woman is hoping that new DNA evidence will clear the name of her husband, who was convicted of murdering his wife's mother, reported NewsChannel5's Lorna Barrett.

In 1999, Clarence Elkins (pictured, left) was sentenced to life in prison for killing his 58-year-old legally blind mother-in-law, Judy Johnson (pictured below).

Prosecutors also accused him of beating and raping his niece, who survived and testified against him.

But Clarence Elkins' wife, Melinda Elkins, always believed in her husband's innocence, and now DNA evidence could prove it.

"It's been a long hard road, very difficult, but we're nearing the end of the first part of it," said Melinda Elkins.

The evidence shows that the DNA does not match Clarence Elkins', but belongs to another man.

"I think the evidence is showing right now that he is innocent, I mean, it's irrefutable at this point," said Melinda Elkins.

Mary Ann Kovach, the chief counsel for the Summit County prosecutor, says she doesn't know how the test results will affect the case.

"We certainly don't want to have an innocent person in jail. We want to know what the truth is," said Kovach. "That's why it's important to look at the report, analyze it, see where to go from here."

But Elkins' attorney plans to ask the court for a new trial as soon as she gets the lab report.

The innocence project, which works to clear people who've been wrongly convicted, helped find a lab for Elkins' DNA testing.