Gettysburg, Pa. ? A man behind bars for 16 years for an elderly neighbor’s rape and murder was released on bail Friday after new DNA evidence showed that body fluids from the crime scene were not his.

As he got into his brother’s car Friday afternoon, Barry Laughman said he felt “great. The truth is coming out. It just took too long. Now, I’ve got to go live my life.”

Laughman was convicted in 1988 and was serving a life sentence in the slaying of a distant relative and neighbor, 85-year-old Edna Laughman. But last summer, The Patriot-News of Harrisburg said that it tracked down the DNA samples from semen found at the scene, and that a new set of laboratory tests excluded Laughman as the source.

Friday’s ruling by Adams County’s president judge, John D. Kuhn, did not exonerate Laughman, who is seeking a new trial that would include the DNA evidence. A hearing on that petition was pending.

Laughman’s brother Larry said the family was taking him to an all-you-can-eat diner Friday night to celebrate.

Prosecutor Paul Dean said Friday he wasn’t making any statement about Laughman’s guilt or innocence by requesting bail but thought it was justified, considering the DNA tests.

“Absolutely it’s an open investigation,” Dean said.

Police had said Laughman confessed weeks after the crime, admitting information only the killer could have known. He now denies being the killer.

Barry Laughman hugs his sister-in-law moments after being released from Adams County Prison in Gettysburg, Pa. Earlier Friday a judge ordered him released on bail based on a new set of DNA evidence tests.