Backers Rally Again to Free Hughes on Bail

Robert Hughes, the former Thousand Oaks private school teacher twice convicted of the 1976 killing of his wife in Delaware, was released Wednesday on $100,000 bail.

Dozens of supporters across the nation contributed money to help him make bail, with $35,000 coming from the Thousand Oaks area, according to Hughes’ father, Clarence.

Robert Hughes was convicted of first-degree murder in 1980 and 1982, but the Delaware Supreme Court overturned both convictions. The court last week affirmed its February decision ordering a third trial, paving the way for Hughes’ release.

The trial is expected to begin in the fall.

Expected to Return

Clarence Hughes, a Thousand Oaks resident, said his son is expected to return to Thousand Oaks next week.

Members of a 5-year-old group of supporters, who raised $500,000 in the past for Hughes’ bail and legal fees, raised additional funds over the telephone over the last week, Clarence Hughes said.

Robert Hughes has spent 4 1/2 years in jail. After his first conviction was overturned in 1981, he arrived in California to be greeted by a joyous crowd of supporters at Los Angeles International Airport. He was returned to jail upon his conviction the next year, however, and had remained in custody until Wednesday.

Robert Hughes has insisted that an unknown intruder murdered his wife at their Delaware home.