On September 29, 1965, Bert Michael Lana was acquitted on charges related to the attack of Tama Hallmark. After eight hours of closing arguments, the case had went to the jury the night before, at 8:00 PM. Jury foreman Rex Watson delivered the verdict of innocent "by reason of insufficient evidence" to District Judge Arthur Marmaduke at 12:21 AM the next morning.
Lana received the verdict with a wide smile across his face. His parents were ecstatic. Lana's mother's was extremely happy with the verdict. "We are overjoyed, although we were sure of his innocence all along," she said.
The seventeen year-old's father, Bert Lana, was also pleased with the verdict. His eyes flooded with tears as he hugged and kissed his son. "We feel fine about it," he said. "We appreciated everything everyone has done for us."
Bert Lana also expressed his joy, "I am happy. I wasn't guilty," he said. "My heart was in my throat." Lana planned to return to high school in Duncan, and then proceed to college to study for the ministry. Both of which he would later do.
The victim, Tama Hallmark, was not present in the courtroom when the verdict was read. Her parents were also absent.
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