IL IL - Starved Rock State Park Murders of three women, 4 Mar 1960

[Gunther Toody]

I don't have a strong opinion one way or the other, but as a counterpoint to this specific argument, see the current Rex Heuermann (LISK) threads. Part of what ties him to the victims are transfer hairs from his wife and daughter, who were out of town during (all?) of his verified murders.

The more I read of this case, the more information comes forth. The hair was one of several found in Murphy's gloved hand. It turns out that they were hot simple hairs that would have fallen in due course, they were hairs that contained a root and a follicle, which means they were pulled from someone's head, likely during a struggle.

Testing labs developed a DNA profile from the hair, which was not from Weger or anyone in his family. Genetic Genealogy determined they were from one of three brothers, who were local to Ottawa.

 

[Gunther Toody]

Police investigators determined that the rather rare 20 strand twine used to bind the Starved Rock murder victims was a match to twine used to bind the victim of an earlier unsolved rape case.

That rape victim picked Chester Weger out of a line up as the person who had raped her.

Wager was convicted of murdering Frances Murphy and sentenced to death. Because he had received the death penalty, Prosecutors decided to not charge Weger with the other two murders or the rape.

On appeal, he was given a re-trial in the Murphy case. Weger was again convicted, but because one of the twelve jurors refused to vote for the death penalty, he was sentenced to life without parole.

Whether Weger was involved in a prior rape or not is irrelevant, because in the Starved Rock case, there was no sexual assault. It was a staged crime scene. There was no evidence connecting Weger to the murders, only a confession that was likely given under duress, and which he immediately recanted.

 

[Betty P]

The more I read of this case, the more information comes forth. The hair was one of several found in Murphy's gloved hand. It turns out that they were hot simple hairs that would have fallen in due course, they were hairs that contained a root and a follicle, which means they were pulled from someone's head, likely during a struggle.

Testing labs developed a DNA profile from the hair, which was not from Weger or anyone in his family. Genetic Genealogy determined they were from one of three brothers, who were local to Ottawa.

If that’s the conclusion of the defense attorney, why is he coming up with a second scenario involving the husband of one of the victims? Which is it?

 

[Gunther Toody]

If that’s the conclusion of the defense attorney, why is he coming up with a second scenario involving the husband of one of the victims? Which is it?

His opinion is that the husband hired a local group to kill the wife. That is detailed in this podcast.

The story starts at about the 4-minute mark.

The real meat of the story comes in at the 8-minute mark.

 

[Betty P]

His opinion is that the husband hired a local group to kill the wife. That is detailed in this podcast.

The story starts at about the 4-minute mark.

The real meat of the story comes in at the 8-minute mark.

I'll check it out.

 

[Gunther Toody]

Chester Weger passed 6 separate polygraph exams, each given by the Illinois State Police.
Not satisfied, a polygraph examiner affiliated with the John C. Reid group was brought in to give Weger another lie detector.

This man's name was Steven Kindig, and he determined that Weger was being untruthful.
Coincidentally, Kindig was good friends with Robert Murphy, husband of one of the victims, who would remarry less than two years after her death.

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/6202f364033f5f35fd5f2546/t/634889e507362716f280f203/1665698278229/Newspaper+article+re+Stephen+Kindig+and+Robert+Murphy.pdf

 

[Richard]

Whether Weger was involved in a prior rape or not is irrelevant, because in the Starved Rock case, there was no sexual assault. It was a staged crime scene. There was no evidence connecting Weger to the murders, only a confession that was likely given under duress, and which he immediately recanted.

The significance about the alleged prior rape is that it tied Weger to the twine used to tie all the victims in the eyes of the investigators. So, from an investigative perspective, it is very relevant.

Weger was not charged with raping any of the victims - not of the Starved Rock women or the earlier case. Because of the way our legal system works, the rape victim could not have been a witness in the murder trial, because her testimony on a crime NOT charged would be considered prejudicial. She was NOT called as a witness, nor was her case mentioned to either of the two juries which convicted Weger of the murder of Frances Murphy.

Weger was released from prison on parole because he was old, NOT because he was considered innocent. He was twice convicted of the crime of murder, based on circumstantial evidence and on his own confession. Some of the circumstantial evidence placed him in the area, away from his job at the time, injuries to his face, blood on his coat, and the twine which came from the kitchen where he worked.

Regarding his detailed confession and reenactment of the crime, followed later by his recantation, it begs the question, "Were you lying then or are you lying now?"

His passing or failing a lie detector test was not something which could be presented in trial.

All that said, the possibility of Weger having been connected to others in the commission of the murders is something to consider.

 

[Gunther Toody]

The significance about the alleged prior rape is that it tied Weger to the twine used to tie all the victims in the eyes of the investigators. So, from an investigative perspective, it is very relevant.

Weger was not charged with raping any of the victims - not of the Starved Rock women or the earlier case. Because of the way our legal system works, the rape victim could not have been a witness in the murder trial, because her testimony on a crime NOT charged would be considered prejudicial. She was NOT called as a witness, nor was her case mentioned to either of the two juries which convicted Weger of the murder of Frances Murphy.

Weger was released from prison on parole because he was old, NOT because he was considered innocent. He was twice convicted of the crime of murder, based on circumstantial evidence and on his own confession. Some of the circumstantial evidence placed him in the area, away from his job at the time, injuries to his face, blood on his coat, and the twine which came from the kitchen where he worked.

Regarding his detailed confession and reenactment of the crime, followed later by his recantation, it begs the question, "Were you lying then or are you lying now?"

His passing or failing a lie detector test was not something which could be presented in trial.

All that said, the possibility of Weger having been connected to others in the commission of the murders is something to consider.

At the crime scene, there were two types of twine, 20-strand and 10-strand.
Newspaper accounts report that 20-strand twine was found tied around the wrists of Frances Murphy and Lillian Oetting and that a piece of 20-strand twine was found knotted to a piece of 10-strand twine near the mouth of the cave in St. Louis Canyon. It was never proven that the twine found at the crime scene matched any twine from the lodge kitchen. That was a fallacy created by Harland Warren.

Investigators went to Chester’s house. What did they find? Twelve-ply twine. There was no 12-ply twine at the crime scene. The twine evidence was so exculpatory that it should have cleared Weger in itself.

 

[Richard]

Correction to my previous post: Weger was convicted of the murder of Lillian Oetting, not of Frances Murphy. Below is a link to a rather long document which discusses the case in great detail. It is the official ruling on Weger's appeal.

Weger appealed on the basis that his confession should not have been allowed into evidence.

LINK:

The PEOPLE v. Weger

The PEOPLE v. Weger - 185 N.E.2d 183, 25 Ill. 2d 370

law.justia.com