FRANCESVILLE, Ind. -- A couple accused of killing their teenage daughter has spent months trying to clear their names despite being cleared by the courts.

Lynnette Finnegan and the girl's stepfather, Roman Finnegan, were accused of killing Jennifer Salyer, 14, in 2005.

"I started screaming. I slowly turned her over and started doing CPR on her," Lynnette Finnegan said. "I'll never forget it."

Lynnette said her shock was magnified when she and Roman were accused of killing the girl.

"I just got terrified -- very, very terrified," Finnegan said.

Every year, the Department of Child Services checks thousands of complaints. In many cases, children deemed to be in danger are removed from their homes and parents are forced to change lifestyles or behavior to get them back.

Salyer, who was born with a heart problem, grew into a life of blood-thinning medicines, doctor's visits and a family that treated her like a regular child.

Salyer died in December 2005. A year and a half later, the Finnegans were arrested on neglect charges -- accused of beating Salyer to death.

"They started with the assumption of guilt. We started with the knowledge of innocence," Roman Finnegan said.

The family began compiling voluminous documents as they turned their living and dining rooms into a law office. They gathered evidence for an epic battle with the state, Call 6's Rafael Sanchez reported.

The couple turned to the Internet to plead for help. They found an attorney in Seattle, Wash., who agreed to take the case with a local lawyer who challenged the state's actions.

"In this case … power was abused tremendously," said Kevin Tankersley, the Finnegans' attorney.

The state's evidence appeared overwhelming. Investigators said there were signs of blunt force trauma to Salyer's head and multiple signs of internal bleeding.

The allegations led authorities to remove Salyer's two younger sisters from the home.

"I felt like I opened the door and they shot me," Lynnette said.

The evidence against the Finnegans was not as it appeared. Experts testified that the internal bleeding was caused by Salyer's heart medication and that the trauma to the head was a result of an autopsy.

The Pulaski County prosecutor dropped the charges in November 2007, and a judge dismissed the case with prejudice.

The couple thought their long battle was over, but DCS said that despite the court ruling, it will not clear the allegations from the Finnegans' file.

State officials said that unlike a criminal case, it bases its decisions on a preponderance of the evidence.

"Preponderance of the evidence is 51 percent, 'Do you believe that this occurred?'" said Judge James W. Payne, director of DCS. "That is, do you tend to believe one thing happened one way just a little bit more than another?"

DCS declined to discuss specifics of the case, but believes that there is a substantiated case of neglect against the Finnegans.

The couple can challenge its finding. Otherwise, it will stay on their record until their youngest child reaches age 24, when files are expunged.

More than two years after losing their daughter, the Finnegans again find themselves fighting an avalanche of allegations, though their daughters were returned to their custody.

"Having experienced it, I would say it is an emotional torture," Roman Finnegan said.

Last year, the state investigated 102,000 complaints involving neglect and abuse.

Through Payne's efforts, parents could appeal a state's findings for the first time beginning in October 2007.

As of January, 140 people had challenged the state. Seventy-five of those people lost, but can take their case to court. Sixteen were successful in their challenge and 32 cases are pending.

Parents who don't challenge the state can't open a day care center, be foster parents or be awarded custody of a relative's child should something happen to its parents.