Murders at Starved Rock TV - Chicago SunTimes online -
3 Women Slain In Park: Find Bodies In Starved Rock Cave. Murders at Starved Rock I: The Boogeyman, Morning Democrat Thursday 17 March 1960 front page, HBO 2021
Chester Weger was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of murder back in 1961. ibid. news
2004: 45 years ago a student of mine in my first year teaching told me about having been raped in Matthiessen State Park. ibid. Sue Ocepeck, former school teacher
Dishwasher Confesses Illinois Park Slayings. ibid. newspaper headline
But within 24 hours he recanted his confession and said he didn’t do it. ibid. McVeigh-Schultz
That after the comments in the kitchen were, You’re face looks like you’re in a fight with a cat. ibid. father
Our contention that Mr Weger’s confession in this case was involuntary and was the product of physical and psychological duress. Murders at Starved Rock II, Weger’s brief at clemency hearing
Strands of Hair Implicate Two in Park Slaying. ibid. news article
He just kept hitting me and [breaks down crying]. ibid. Weger
Dummett is the man who fabricated and wrote the confession. ibid.
Smokey confessed to her [sister] that he was one of the primary people involved in the Starved Rock murders … Smokey’s crew were involved with organised crime … It’s really the husbands of the women that were the motivation behind this. ibid. investigator
Why I ended up in prison is what George Spiros told the police. ibid. Weger
At the next parole hearing [2020] Weger is indeed paroled. Murders at Starved Rock III: Memories ***** Dan Churney, local reporter
They ruined my life. Keeping me locked up 60 years for something I never done. ibid. Weger on release
Two people because of the hairs … collected at the scene … It clearly looks like the hairs of the attackers, and there’s this 1960 lab report that says it’s not Chester’s hair on the glove … It wasn’t even introduced at the trial. ibid. Chester’s new brief
All of this character analysis with these priors [rapes] was disturbing, but does that make him a murderer? ibid
George Spiros: I know he was involved in that. Stanley Tucker was like an instigator. ibid. old lady
His confession of this crime was given to many … There was a doctor’s report that said that Chester was not beaten … Chester’s own words, his side of the story, is completely different than the public record … The conspiracy keeps having to get bigger and bigger … I don’t believe he was beaten … Chester, I believe, added colour to the story after years in prison. ibid.
They were given a ride to the west entrance of St Louis Canyon … Another witness saw a black car … Stanley Tucker had a black Cadillac … Stanley Tucker gave them a ride … Chester Weger and Stanley Tucker were the two main suspects in this case … I don’t see how he did it by himself … ibid. Judge Jansen’s original review of case
Chester wrote this to his father while he was awaiting trial … I think what he’s trying to say is, I’m not the murderer but I’m harbouring information. ibid.
My brother always said that somebody had threatened him. But he would never tell me who it was. ibid. Chester’s sister
It is hereby ordered that forensic testing is granted. ibid. appeal judge
Seeking to clear his notorious client’s name, a Chicago lawyer has told prosecutors he’s uncovered evidence that mobsters fatally beat three suburban women at Starved Rock State Park in 1960 and that a relative of one of the victims arranged the killings.
Chester Weger, known for decades as the Starved Rock Killer, was convicted of bludgeoning Lillian Oetting, who was found dead with her friends Frances Murphy and Mildred Linquist after they went on a hike in the park about 90 miles southwest of Chicago. Prosecutors said he acted alone.
Weger, who worked at a lodge at the park, confessed months after the killings but quickly recanted and continued to maintain his innocence during more than 60 years in prison. He wasn’t tried for the other two killings after he was sentenced to life in prison.
In 2020, the Illinois Prisoner Review Board paroled Weger, finding he was a model inmate, but his conviction remains on the books. Chicago SunTimes online article Frank Main 14th October 2022, ‘Convicted Starved Rock killer’s lawyer: Family member might have arranged for Chicago Outfit to kill 3 women in 1960