A former Augusta police officer, who served more than three years in prison before his murder conviction was thrown out, has died this weekend.

The family of Evan Zimmerman says the 61-year-old died of cancer.

Zimmerman was convicted of the strangling death of his ex-girlfriend, Kathleen Thompson, in Eau Claire in 2001.

With the help of the Wisconsin Innocence Project, he successfully appealed on the grounds of ineffective counsel.

He was granted a second trial in 2005, but the district attorney moved that the charge be dropped, saying he couldn't prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.