Gunther Toody
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One is known dead, two are known alive and one has not been located yet.
IL IL - Barbara, 15, & Patricia Grimes, 13, Chicago, 27 Dec 1956
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PrimeSuspect
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OT - I recently watched the documentary about the abduction and murder of Maria Ridulph (in December, 1957). After 55 yrs, LE finally got her killer, Jack McCullough, formerly John Tessier (18 yrs old at the time) who lived in the same neighbourhood as Maria and her family.
Thanks primarily to the deathbed confession of his mother (but she did help him escape justice for all those years!) and even more importantly, McCullough's sister, Janet, who reported him to the police. But it took several calls and emails before she was listened to, wonderful that she was so persistent. McCullough is serving life but there is an appeal pending at the moment. McCullough (Tessier) was even a cop at one time but was discharged after molesting a teenager. :shakehead:
If only someone would speak up about the Grimes sister murders, he/they would most likely still be alive, it's never too late.
lease:
Thanks primarily to the deathbed confession of his mother (but she did help him escape justice for all those years!) and even more importantly, McCullough's sister, Janet, who reported him to the police. But it took several calls and emails before she was listened to, wonderful that she was so persistent. McCullough is serving life but there is an appeal pending at the moment. McCullough (Tessier) was even a cop at one time but was discharged after molesting a teenager. :shakehead:
If only someone would speak up about the Grimes sister murders, he/they would most likely still be alive, it's never too late.
lease:
Gunther Toody
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OT - I recently watched the documentary about the abduction and murder of Maria Ridulph (in December, 1957). After 55 yrs, LE finally got her killer, Jack McCullough, formerly John Tessier (18 yrs old at the time) who lived in the same neighbourhood as Maria and her family.
Thanks primarily to the deathbed confession of his mother (but she did help him escape justice for all those years!) and even more importantly, McCullough's sister, Janet, who reported him to the police. But it took several calls and emails before she was listened to, wonderful that she was so persistent. McCullough is serving life but there is an appeal pending at the moment. McCullough (Tessier) was even a cop at one time but was discharged after molesting a teenager. :shakehead:
If only someone would speak up about the Grimes sister murders, he/they would most likely still be alive, it's never too late.
What threw the investigation off from the start was the errant focus on Bennie Bedwell as the perpetrator. In my opinion, Sheriff Joseph Lohman had his own agenda, in that he wanted to use the solving of the Grimes murder as a springboard into the Governor's job. Consequently, much potential evidence was overlooked or disregarded as irrelevant. Earl Zastrow is a perfect example. Earl, if you recall, was the last person to see the Grimes girls alive as they darted in and out of doorways a block from their home that fateful night.
Earl was working as a helper delivering milk one day when he mentioned seeing the girls to a police officer. His admission got little attention, initially, because that time was the height of the Bedwell investigation. Bedwell already admitted to the crime and I think Lohman wanted to rush the conviction along...before the election. Things changed soon thereafter when Bedwell recanted his admission, stating he had been coerced, beaten and deprived of sleep in order to gain the admission of guilt. State's Attorney Benjamin Adamowski, re-evaluated the evidence against Bedwell, and in the end ordered him released.
That put Sheriff Lohman back to square one and caused the department to look at statements and evidence given prior to the Bedwell fiasco. Police then remembered Zastrows', statement about seeing the girls that night and he was brought in for questioning. Police would dog Zastrow for years because his parents owned a grocery store a few blocks from the Grimes home and the store had a large freezer where some in law enforcement thought the girls could have been put after they were killed. Initially, the cops would show up at his school, taking him out of class for questioning and it continued on, even after he joined the Air Force. After several years, interest in him waned.
Another problem was the strict adherence to the rights of minors in questioning as well as not being allowed to use lie detector results to further the investigation.
When the smoke cleared from the Bedwell case, other evidence or witnesses just went on their way not wanting to become involved. Police had interviewed thousands of people in the case and according to some people, used heavy handed tactics. That too, may have kept many from offering assistance.
But keep the faith.
Things are progressing, albeit slowly.
We have another meeting pending as soon as one of the participants finishes an unrelated investigation he is currently working.
Gunther Toody
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Some of you may not know what's going on with the case at this time.
We have had a meeting with Chicago area law enforcement officials as well as political leaders.
After our presentation, they believe the case has merit. All information was turned of to one of the country's leading investigators for his consideration and he has determined that the case has merit also. Now, we are waiting for another ranking police official to finish a case he is working on so we can then proceed with another meeting with him.
We are hoping that this takes place before the anniversary of the crime (Dec. 28th)
We already have suspects who fit all criteria for establishing guilt in the crime.... means, motive and opportunity.
Once this breaks open, and I think it will come soon, the full support of various law enforcement agencies will act quickly.
We are also going to take some investigators around the area where these events occurred and show them all of the key locations.
At a future date, I may offer to do the same with members of this board if there is sufficient interest.
We have had a meeting with Chicago area law enforcement officials as well as political leaders.
After our presentation, they believe the case has merit. All information was turned of to one of the country's leading investigators for his consideration and he has determined that the case has merit also. Now, we are waiting for another ranking police official to finish a case he is working on so we can then proceed with another meeting with him.
We are hoping that this takes place before the anniversary of the crime (Dec. 28th)
We already have suspects who fit all criteria for establishing guilt in the crime.... means, motive and opportunity.
Once this breaks open, and I think it will come soon, the full support of various law enforcement agencies will act quickly.
We are also going to take some investigators around the area where these events occurred and show them all of the key locations.
At a future date, I may offer to do the same with members of this board if there is sufficient interest.
Gunther Toody
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So what really happened to the Grimes sisters?
While it certainly appears to be a case of murder, the physical evidence is not really clear enough to support such a claim.
The girls bodies were found along the side of the road, literally frozen solid according to some reports. There was no cause, manner, or mechanism of death readily apparent. (read more: http://www.pathologyoutlines.com/topic/forensicscauses.html )
The bodies were clean, as if their clothes were very recently removed with even the bottoms of their feet being very clean. This tells us they did not spend a lot of time in the elements without clothing or shoes. There is the likely hood they were kept in a freezer but no such evidence has been found. Police did find the yellow sweater at Santa Fe Speedway in the concession stand basement, but there is no indication that there was a freezer large enough on the premises. I can find no records of the police search so that seems to have become a dead end.
The bodies bore no marks sufficient to cause death, nor was there any chemicals, poisons, inhalants present in their systems. The puncture marks on Patricia's chest were not sufficiently deep enough to cause death. The odd nature of the puncture wounds supports the theory of being placed in a freezer if somehow ice were to have accumulated on her chest by her laying under a freezer cooling unit that went through freeze/thaw cycles.
There were no signs of strangulation or bruising on the neck, nor were there any extensive bruises. Each girl did have bruising around the mouth area. This could indicate either being struck, (which is what the police believed) or caused by a heavy hand being held over their mouth and nose to suffocate them. The problem with any of these theories is that the evidence disappears over time. Bruising in particular will diminish after a few weeks.
If the girls were taken to the country and tossed out of a car after being stripped of their clothes, what had to have transpired after that event that allowed their bodies to be found clean and well preserved three weeks later? HAd they been wandering around naked and shoeless, evidence from the environment would have supported that, but it does not. Remember....they were clean head to toe.
Here is an alternate theory to consider.
In that isolated area there was one location in particular that could have played a role.
Less than a mile from where the bodies were found, stood an isolated encampment known as Liberty Grove. Liberty was basically a large group of trailers parked together which were used for prostitution, gambling, and other vices. It was supposed to even have had armed guards to protect the activities. There is no doubt that the Grove was known to the boys in the neighborhood since we know they went to Santa Fe Speedway and a county pool that was located within the same proximity. Liberty Grove is now a subdivision filled with houses.
So the theory would continue...that perhaps someone coming from or going to Liberty Grove saw the girls and either forced them into a vehicle or offered assistance and they ended up at Liberty Grove...where they could have been kept alive in forced prostitution.
On January 9th the weather forecast was for heavy snow (8" actually fell")...so it is not too far of a stretch of the imagination to concur that their captors saw the snow storm as an opportunity to rid themselves of the girls who may by then have become a burden.
For your consideration.
While it certainly appears to be a case of murder, the physical evidence is not really clear enough to support such a claim.
The girls bodies were found along the side of the road, literally frozen solid according to some reports. There was no cause, manner, or mechanism of death readily apparent. (read more: http://www.pathologyoutlines.com/topic/forensicscauses.html )
The bodies were clean, as if their clothes were very recently removed with even the bottoms of their feet being very clean. This tells us they did not spend a lot of time in the elements without clothing or shoes. There is the likely hood they were kept in a freezer but no such evidence has been found. Police did find the yellow sweater at Santa Fe Speedway in the concession stand basement, but there is no indication that there was a freezer large enough on the premises. I can find no records of the police search so that seems to have become a dead end.
The bodies bore no marks sufficient to cause death, nor was there any chemicals, poisons, inhalants present in their systems. The puncture marks on Patricia's chest were not sufficiently deep enough to cause death. The odd nature of the puncture wounds supports the theory of being placed in a freezer if somehow ice were to have accumulated on her chest by her laying under a freezer cooling unit that went through freeze/thaw cycles.
There were no signs of strangulation or bruising on the neck, nor were there any extensive bruises. Each girl did have bruising around the mouth area. This could indicate either being struck, (which is what the police believed) or caused by a heavy hand being held over their mouth and nose to suffocate them. The problem with any of these theories is that the evidence disappears over time. Bruising in particular will diminish after a few weeks.
If the girls were taken to the country and tossed out of a car after being stripped of their clothes, what had to have transpired after that event that allowed their bodies to be found clean and well preserved three weeks later? HAd they been wandering around naked and shoeless, evidence from the environment would have supported that, but it does not. Remember....they were clean head to toe.
Here is an alternate theory to consider.
In that isolated area there was one location in particular that could have played a role.
Less than a mile from where the bodies were found, stood an isolated encampment known as Liberty Grove. Liberty was basically a large group of trailers parked together which were used for prostitution, gambling, and other vices. It was supposed to even have had armed guards to protect the activities. There is no doubt that the Grove was known to the boys in the neighborhood since we know they went to Santa Fe Speedway and a county pool that was located within the same proximity. Liberty Grove is now a subdivision filled with houses.
So the theory would continue...that perhaps someone coming from or going to Liberty Grove saw the girls and either forced them into a vehicle or offered assistance and they ended up at Liberty Grove...where they could have been kept alive in forced prostitution.
On January 9th the weather forecast was for heavy snow (8" actually fell")...so it is not too far of a stretch of the imagination to concur that their captors saw the snow storm as an opportunity to rid themselves of the girls who may by then have become a burden.
For your consideration.
Noirdame79
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This case has baffled me ever since I read about it. This thread has been very informative. I hope there is a break in the case soon.
Gunther Toody
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With cases this old, there are few avenues of investigation left to pursue. Careless handling of evidence, poor crime scene management, iinter-agency infighting and not sharing evidence seems to have been the norm for this case. However, there are a few new advances in forensic science that could help in cases such as this, and one of them is called Touch DNA analysis.
Touch DNA refers to the DNA that is recovered from skin (epithelial) cells that is left behind when a person touches or comes into contact with items such as clothes, a weapon, or other objects. A person sheds about 400,000 skin cells per day, but it is the lower skin cells that will provide the best DNA profile. These cells are typically recovered when force is used such as on the victim's clothes or at a crime scene after a struggle has occurred.
These epithelial cells can be lifted with a tape, swabbed with a Q-tip, or even scraped from the clothes of the victim, or objects. Even food can be scraped for skin cells. According to the Bode Technology Lab, as little as 5 to 20 skin cells are all that is required to obtain a Touch DNA sample.
We know that body fluid samples were taken from the girls and slides were made, so Touch DNA analysis could be promising. However, finding a match would only prove that the person came into contact with the victim. If the DNA were found in semen samples, for example...it would only prove that the two had sexual relations.
For the best chance at a conviction, witnesses would need either have been present at the time of the crime, or be willing to testify that the suspect told them pertinent facts about the crime that only the killer would know. So far, we have found no one willing to come forward with that information, and there seems to be a circle of silence surrounding the case among those who knew the girls.
Another theory is that the girls were simply thrust into harm's way by a prank and they ultimately died...if true, an Involuntary Manslaughter conviction could be possible. There is no Statute of Limitations on IM in Illinois but unless witnesses put the girls with the suspect that night, it would be a tough case to win.
It seems that only a confession by the perpetrator would assure a conviction at this point. That, coupled with the DNA analysis and witness testimony should do the trick.
I am reminded of the case against Jack McCollough for the Maria Riduph murder. McCollough was convited on what I consider pretty flimsy evidence. Within days of Maria's disappearance, police received an anonymous phone call that John Tessier matched the description of a man seen talking to her. Tessier changed his last name to McCullough after his mother died in 1994 to honor her maiden name.
When police questioned him, he said he had taken a train from Rockford, Ill., about 40 miles from Sycamore, to Chicago, where he received a physical exam and psychological tests to determine his eligibility for military service. McCullough left the state soon after the murder and joined the Air Force. He later transferred to the Army and then worked as a policeman in Washington state.
Decades later, new leads emerged, including an unstamped Rockford to Chicago train ticket McCullough's ex-girlfriend found behind a picture frame. Under a new cloud of suspicion, McCullough admitted he had never taken a train to Chicago, and said his stepfather drove him there and he then hitched a ride back to Rockford where he called his stepfather to pick him up.
After McCullough was convicted, he wrote an open letter to the residents of Sycamore proclaiming his innocence and alibi, according to the DeKalb Daily Chronicle.
We contacted McCollough in prison to see if he had any insight into the Grimes case, since both crimes happened at the same time and Jack had connections to Chicago. He shared a few thoughts but nothing to go on.
So in the end, a conviction is possible.
It would require a few pieces of the Grimes sisters puzzle to fall into place but it is possible...and that is what keeps us going!
Touch DNA refers to the DNA that is recovered from skin (epithelial) cells that is left behind when a person touches or comes into contact with items such as clothes, a weapon, or other objects. A person sheds about 400,000 skin cells per day, but it is the lower skin cells that will provide the best DNA profile. These cells are typically recovered when force is used such as on the victim's clothes or at a crime scene after a struggle has occurred.
These epithelial cells can be lifted with a tape, swabbed with a Q-tip, or even scraped from the clothes of the victim, or objects. Even food can be scraped for skin cells. According to the Bode Technology Lab, as little as 5 to 20 skin cells are all that is required to obtain a Touch DNA sample.
We know that body fluid samples were taken from the girls and slides were made, so Touch DNA analysis could be promising. However, finding a match would only prove that the person came into contact with the victim. If the DNA were found in semen samples, for example...it would only prove that the two had sexual relations.
For the best chance at a conviction, witnesses would need either have been present at the time of the crime, or be willing to testify that the suspect told them pertinent facts about the crime that only the killer would know. So far, we have found no one willing to come forward with that information, and there seems to be a circle of silence surrounding the case among those who knew the girls.
Another theory is that the girls were simply thrust into harm's way by a prank and they ultimately died...if true, an Involuntary Manslaughter conviction could be possible. There is no Statute of Limitations on IM in Illinois but unless witnesses put the girls with the suspect that night, it would be a tough case to win.
It seems that only a confession by the perpetrator would assure a conviction at this point. That, coupled with the DNA analysis and witness testimony should do the trick.
I am reminded of the case against Jack McCollough for the Maria Riduph murder. McCollough was convited on what I consider pretty flimsy evidence. Within days of Maria's disappearance, police received an anonymous phone call that John Tessier matched the description of a man seen talking to her. Tessier changed his last name to McCullough after his mother died in 1994 to honor her maiden name.
When police questioned him, he said he had taken a train from Rockford, Ill., about 40 miles from Sycamore, to Chicago, where he received a physical exam and psychological tests to determine his eligibility for military service. McCullough left the state soon after the murder and joined the Air Force. He later transferred to the Army and then worked as a policeman in Washington state.
Decades later, new leads emerged, including an unstamped Rockford to Chicago train ticket McCullough's ex-girlfriend found behind a picture frame. Under a new cloud of suspicion, McCullough admitted he had never taken a train to Chicago, and said his stepfather drove him there and he then hitched a ride back to Rockford where he called his stepfather to pick him up.
After McCullough was convicted, he wrote an open letter to the residents of Sycamore proclaiming his innocence and alibi, according to the DeKalb Daily Chronicle.
We contacted McCollough in prison to see if he had any insight into the Grimes case, since both crimes happened at the same time and Jack had connections to Chicago. He shared a few thoughts but nothing to go on.
So in the end, a conviction is possible.
It would require a few pieces of the Grimes sisters puzzle to fall into place but it is possible...and that is what keeps us going!
Gunther Toody
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Just taking a moment..
58 years ago on this date at about this exact time, the Grimes girls met their fate.
Whether they were taken as sexual prisoners, murdered outright or left wandering along a country road in ice cold temperatures, their fate would be the same.
It wouldn't be until three weeks later we would hear from them again.....laying in a ditch along a quiet road in the country, naked and discarded.
A botched investigation and equally botched autopsy would lead the investigation on many twists and turns. The reliance on ancient technology in the form of toy-like "lie detectors" likely allowed the killers to go free. Political and jurisdictional infighting coupled with agencies refusing to share information showed the incompetence of law enforcement at the time and its a wonder anything ever got solved.
I am sorry, girls...
You deserved better.
58 years ago on this date at about this exact time, the Grimes girls met their fate.
Whether they were taken as sexual prisoners, murdered outright or left wandering along a country road in ice cold temperatures, their fate would be the same.
It wouldn't be until three weeks later we would hear from them again.....laying in a ditch along a quiet road in the country, naked and discarded.
A botched investigation and equally botched autopsy would lead the investigation on many twists and turns. The reliance on ancient technology in the form of toy-like "lie detectors" likely allowed the killers to go free. Political and jurisdictional infighting coupled with agencies refusing to share information showed the incompetence of law enforcement at the time and its a wonder anything ever got solved.
I am sorry, girls...
You deserved better.
TallCoolOne
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Yes Gunther Toody, they did certainly deserve better. How utterly sad that so many years have passed and here we still are pondering over this sad case.
Still holding hope for resolution......
Still holding hope for resolution......
TedMac
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Happy Holidays GT! Did you ever have that meeting with the Chicago authorities that you mentioned a while back? If so, how did it go?
Gunther Toody
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We did, and another meeting is scheduled with Cold Case investigators after the holidays.
Hopefully, they will agree to re-investigate the case.
I will keep the group informed if anything develops.
Gunther Toody
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Just touching base on the case...
One evening shortly before Christmas, my partner McKinley received a knock on his door. It turned out to be two of the leading Detectives of the Cold Case unit responsible for the Grimes case. We had written to them early in the summer and had not heard anything since. However, someone from outr initial meeting said something that prompted them to follow up.
He laid out the case as best he could to them over the course of 1 1/2 hours and they agreed with our assessment regarding the suspects meriting another look. We agreed to schedule a more formal meeting at their office later this month.
One evening shortly before Christmas, my partner McKinley received a knock on his door. It turned out to be two of the leading Detectives of the Cold Case unit responsible for the Grimes case. We had written to them early in the summer and had not heard anything since. However, someone from outr initial meeting said something that prompted them to follow up.
He laid out the case as best he could to them over the course of 1 1/2 hours and they agreed with our assessment regarding the suspects meriting another look. We agreed to schedule a more formal meeting at their office later this month.
Snick1946
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Rejoining this discussion after a few months, great work!
I seem to recall reading that the coroner's report on the girls stated that they were both virgins- there was no sign of sexual activity, forced or otherwise. Was that something put in the report as a false statement for reasons best known at that time?
I seem to recall reading that the coroner's report on the girls stated that they were both virgins- there was no sign of sexual activity, forced or otherwise. Was that something put in the report as a false statement for reasons best known at that time?
Gunther Toody
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The coroners report was accurate as far as what they discovered. However, the Chicago Police Crime Lab did find evidence of sexual activity in Barbara. Investigator Harry Glos claimed that the Coroner was withholding information by not releasing that information and Glos was fired for it. There was a concerted effort put out by City Hall and powerful neighborhood political organizations to publish only the positive element of the case in the papers and not the grisly details. There was some mutilation, whether caused by rodents or the perps is unknown.
Gunther Toody
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We are still in a holding pattern. Recent phone call to Cold Case Dets. indicate that they are still interested in the case but currently working on two other cases that are more recent.
CastlesBurning
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Haven't been to WS in some months, so I was just catching up on this thread...
I can't help but wonder what might have happened if Mrs. Boske HAD had a phone and called the police when she heard those screams. Perhaps nothing different, but there's always that possibility.
I can't help but wonder what might have happened if Mrs. Boske HAD had a phone and called the police when she heard those screams. Perhaps nothing different, but there's always that possibility.
scriptgirl
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Who is Mrs. Boske?
Gunther Toody
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