IL IL - Debbie Fijan, 10, DuPage County, 11 Feb 1966 - #2

[Kayo - 55]

Here is a map of Wayne Township:

http://www.waynetwp-il.org/dsp/map.htm

County Farm and Gary can both be seen on the above map. Driving eastbound on Lies from Fair Oaks, County Farm intersects with Lies before Gary. Kuhn also intersects with Lies before Gary.

One thing I don't recall being mentioned in MSM is whether or not impressions from LS'S tires matched the impressions taken on St. Charles where Debbie's boot marks indicated she left the road and (presumably) entered a white vehicle.

Iirc, one of the many articles linked indicated the tire impressions taken from where she was found on Lies matched the tire impressions found on St. Charles. (or am I confusing the boot marks matching from the swings to the spot they ended on St. Charles?)

I don't think we know what time LS joined the search.

Wayne township goes pretty far west. IDK how quickly one could get from Fair Oaks to the western border of Wayne township back in 1966.

Thank you Cubby for posting the map above. A township is 6 square miles, so quite a few roads could have been traveled between the time Debbie was abducted, and the time she was left along Lies Rd. I don't recall if tire impressions were taken along St. Charles to compare with any impressions taken along Lies(?). Conditions would have been "ideal" (e.g. roads were soft, no frost); although, I don't know the ideal conditions for taking tire casts. If I recall, fibers on the bottom of Debbie's boots were compared to fibers in LS's car, since LS claimed that MAS wore boots that were similar to Debbie's. Another ridiculous "claim" - CYA!! Debbie was 10, MAS was 29 - not even close in terms of boot size. Unfortunately, "forensics" back in the 60's doesn't even compare to 21st century Forensics.

 

[Kayo - 55]

I don't think LE believed him. A grand jury refused to indict.

I just recently noticed Benjamin is a middle school now. I wonder when that happened.

As far as structures on LS'S property, I was thinking of possible crime scene locations. Was there somewhere he could have hidden her on the property without his family or neighbors aware of them?

I believe that Benjamin was K-8th up until the 70's. The school today appears to be twice the size that it was in the 1960's, and the enrollment today is almost 2X the size it was in the 1960's. If I recall, the "typical" class size at Benjamin in the 1960's was 18-20 students = 160 students, not counting Kindergarten. The middle school enrollment today is >300 students.

It's possible that LS could have held Debbie on his parent's farm after 5:45 pm on 02/11/1966 but: 1) I don't know, like you mentioned Cubby, if there were buildings on JS's property that LS could have used for hiding, and 2) according to the Coroner, "Debbie could have possibly lived for 2-3 hours" after she was left along Lies. If she was found about 11:00 pm, she was probably "thrown" from a car and/or left along the edge of Lies Rd. about 8:00 pm - pure speculation on these times; with the exception of when Debbie was found. If LS supposedly arrived home about 6(?), and is guilty, there was a "window" of almost 2 hours. If guilty, MAS provided coaching for LS.

 

[Kayo - 55]

"New Slaying Clue Found" - Match Girl's Boot Print In Coach's Car (wife bars police from home)

Good information regarding Debbie's boots. The above "site" is just below DF's Websleuth site. Apparently, there are 'prohibitions against press statements by lawyers'. If I'm understanding this correctly, State's Atty. William Hopf made statements to the press regarding Debbie's boots that were "disallowed"(?). Very disappointing that this occurred. Again, I question the inexperience of State's Atty. William Hopf as Prosecuting Atty. during the Grand Jury Trial.

 

[Kayo - 55]

http://digitalcommons.law.villanova.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1733&context=vlr

Archived article from Villanova Law School regarding Debbie's boot prints found in LS's car.

 

[Kayo - 55]

According to some of the archived Chicago Tribune articles, there were 4 different Judges that were involved with LS's pre-trial, grand jury, his release, etc. Judge Fitzgerald was removed at the request of LS's attorneys for "being too close"/conflict of interest, case was returned to Judge Leroy Rechenmacher who re-assigned it to Marvin Johnson. Judge William Bauer was also involved (see/refer to Chicago Tribune archives: "Bail Approved", "Schofield is Free").

William Hopf, born in 1928 in Geneva, IL., DPC State's "prosecuting" attorney worked as a dispatcher/Deputy Sheriff for the DPC Sheriff's office when he was 20. With the exception of Judge Fitzgerald, does anyone know why there were so many different Judge's involved? It would appear, and seem to me that Debbie's case should have been moved out of DuPage County. Did she in fact receive a "fair" pre-trial (e.g. judicial process and system too "close" to law enforcement)? Pure speculation on my part. Other reasons for re-assignment and/or recusal?

 

[Kayo - 55]

Thinking of you on your birthday Debbie,
But that is nothing new, For no day dawns and no day ends,
Without a thought of you

 

[Kayo - 55]

It's very "disturbing/morbid" when I look at photo 3 of 9 (Chicago Tribune - "The unsolved murder of Debbie Fijan", "Debbie's Possessions"). You can clearly see boot prints on the cover of Debbie's "3-ring binder". Even though LS claimed that "his wife (MAS) wore boots similar to Debbie's"; there's a very distinct, recognizable BIG DIFFERENCE, even with the naked eye. Is this just another BIG DOT that wasn't connected?? Per State's Atty. William Hopf: "We do know that the boot print matches up with Debbie's boots". Is any of this information still on-file with the DPCSO? Is any of this information available through the FOIA? Maybe it's time to "shake things up" with DPCSO. They need to get off their hands. I realize that Atty. Hopf was referring to a "muddy boot print" in the car, not the boot prints visible to the naked eye on Debbie's binder.

 

[Kayo - 55]

This is the first time that I read/heard about this. WB and LS would have been very close in age. There's another article: Daily Herald from Chicago(?) - 12/15/1966, "Bellecome Perjury Probe Continued by Grand Jury"; however, I was unable to find the article. I think most of the DH articles are "pay per view", or 1 week "free subscriptions" - HA!


http://archives.chicagotribune.com/...ticle/perjury-case-grows-out-of-girls-slaying

I wonder if WB can be located, if still living?? 12/22/1966 Daily Herald Chicago referenced a LB, but article above (Trib) referenced a WB.

 

[Kayo - 55]

I may have mis-spelled the above DH 12/15/1966 article(?). Upon closer look at the Trib. article, it appears to read: "Bellecomo Perjury Probe Continued by Grand Jury".

 

[Cubby]

I tried posting on Debbie birthday but couldn't get the post to update. I did think about her.

I looked up WB some time about go and discovered he had passed away at a fairly young age a long time ago. It might have even been as far back as the late 70's.

I can't get a large enough copy of the photos posted on the 50th anniversary to see a boot print. Will try looking on a different computer later this week.

The DH and it's pay to view articles are a pita.

 

[Kayo - 55]

I tried posting on Debbie birthday but couldn't get the post to update. I did think about her.

I looked up WB some time about go and discovered he had passed away at a fairly young age a long time ago. It might have even been as far back as the late 70's.

I can't get a large enough copy of the photos posted on the 50th anniversary to see a boot print. Will try looking on a different computer later this week.

The DH and it's pay to view articles are a pita.

Too bad about WB; especially if he served on the Grand Jury. He was probably one of the youngest, if not the youngest on the GJ - very close in age to LS. Does anyone know if there is a statute of limitations on discussing a case with a GJ member? Statute of Limitations and/or waiting time to obtain a copy of the GJ list for Debbie's case?

 

[Kayo - 55]

I tried posting on Debbie birthday but couldn't get the post to update. I did think about her.

I looked up WB some time about go and discovered he had passed away at a fairly young age a long time ago. It might have even been as far back as the late 70's.

I can't get a large enough copy of the photos posted on the 50th anniversary to see a boot print. Will try looking on a different computer later this week.

The DH and it's pay to view articles are a pita.

Too bad about WB; especially if he served on the Grand Jury. He was probably one of the youngest, if not the youngest on the GJ - very close in age to LS. Does anyone know if there is a statute of limitations on discussing a case with a GJ member? Statute of Limitations and/or waiting time to obtain a copy of the GJ list for Debbie's case?

 

[Cubby]

WB was the guy who claimed to have been shown the murder weapon by a neighbor of Debbies. He was charged with perjury for providing false information to police. It's a pay to view article, but if someone searches William Bellecomo Elmhurst Fijan they will find the link to the pot article.

 

[Cubby]

All it takes is one person to break the silence and provide information which could solve this case.

Anonymous tips can be provided to DuPage Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS

Information to provide web tips and mobile tips can be found at the following link.

http://www.dupagecrimestoppers.com

 

[Cubby]

Way up thread it was posted that GJ hearings info is sealed forever.

 

[Cubby]

WB was born in march of 39 and passed away in Oct of 75

https://familysearch.org/search/col...am~ +surname:Bellecomo~&collection_id=1202535

 

[Cubby]

Considering the only person ever charged with Debbie's murder was raised Catholic and had at one time considered the priesthood before becoming a teacher, I found the following article interesting.

http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/com...dramatic-man-admits-to-murder-after-70-years/

 

[Kayo - 55]

Considering the only person ever charged with Debbie's murder was raised Catholic and had at one time considered the priesthood before becoming a teacher, I found the following article interesting.

http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/com...dramatic-man-admits-to-murder-after-70-years/

Thank you for posting this Cubby. I will always wonder if there wasn't more (?) regarding why Judge Fitzgerald was asked to be removed by LS's attorneys. The fact that Judge Fitzgerald signed/issued a search warrant should not have been interpreted as a "conflict of interest"; and he should not have been removed. Judge Fitzgerald's son and LS were 1 year apart in age, I believe he (Fitzgerald's son, no longer living) was a priest when Debbie was murdered, and he eventually became a Bishop of the Joliet Diocese. Once again, I might be "grasping at straws". Was it possible that the Fitzgerald's knew more about LS, the Klein's, etc.(e.g. LS left the seminary/school in Ohio before attending Quincy University)? Did LS witness something at the Seminary that could have had an "impact" with his direction/disturbing answers he provided after Debbie was murdered?

 

[Kayo - 55]

Revision to above (last sentence): Did LS witness and/or participate in something at the seminary that could have had an "impact" with his direction/disturbing answers he provided after Debbie was murdered?

 

[Cubby]

Revision to above (last sentence): Did LS witness and/or participate in something at the seminary that could have had an "impact" with his direction/disturbing answers he provided after Debbie was murdered?

The only person who can answer that isn't talking.