Footsteps in the Snow TV - The Coldest Case Ever Solved 2021 - True Crime Recaps
This is the tale of a small town changed for ever. A seven-year-old girl abducted off the streets of Sycamore, Illinois, in 1957. Months turned into years then decades, little Maria’s murder left unsolved until a mother’s shocking deathbed confession. Footsteps in the Snow, LMN 2014
On April 26th 1958 a couple hunting for mushrooms near the town of Galena, Illinois, came upon the little girl’s body. ibid.
After her mother’s deathbed confession that her brother was the killer, Jan Tessier became determined to bring him to justice. It took nearly two decades. ibid.
The coldest case in American history ever to be brought to justice. ibid.
In 2016 a post-conviction review of the evidence determined that McCullough could not have been present at the time and place of Maria Ridulph’s likely abduction. McCullough was released from prison and charged against him were dismissed. ibid. captions
People just really love to know how a story ends. The Coldest Case Ever Solved, 2021
1958: The abduction of Maria Ridulph devastated the town of Sycamore and gained national attention. Ibid.
The investigation was intense and bolstered further by nationwide intrigue. ibid.
Janet Tessier made numerous attempts to bring her mothers’ [deathbed] words [John did it] to the attention of someone who might have the power to do something. ibid.
2012: 55 years after Maria’s life was taken, Jack McCullough was convicted of the crime. ibid.
Jack McCullough did not kill Maria Ridulph. ibid.
The search for answers starts with a single clue: a doll. It’s the only thing 7-year-old Maria Ridulph leaves behind in the snow on that cold December night in 1957. True Crime Recaps: A Conviction in Doubt: Was the Nation’s Oldest Cold Case Really Ever Solved? Youtube 2025
Her ravaged body turns up in the woods five months later. ibid.
Jack McCullough, a guy who used to live in town. He’s arrested, convicted … Just a few year later the conviction is thrown out. Jack walks free and the case is back to square one. ibid.
72 hours into the search for her, a tipster calls the Sheriff’s Office to report a boy named Johnny Tessier … a deathbed confession shifted the focus right back to John Tessier … John has changed his named to Jack McCullough. ibid.