The Starved Rock Murders
The Case
In March of 1960 three women were found murdered in a cave. Frances Murphy, Mildred Lindquist, and Lillian Oetting were wives and mothers who decided to take a four-day trip to Starved Rock State Park near LaSalle, Illinois. They checked into the Starved Rock Lodge on March 14th. Two days later, they were found inside a cave in St. Louis Canyon, bound with twine, bludgeoned, and partially nude. Their faces mutilated beyond recognition and their bodies displayed to arouse terror in whoever would find them. Months after the brutal murders, the Illinois State Police zeroed in on a young dishwasher who worked at the lodge, Chester Weger. Despite passing three lie detector tests, the police pursued Chester for months, overlooking other potential leads. They arrested him in November 1960, and after a lengthy interrogation, Chester confessed. He immediately recanted, citing fear and coercion, but the damage was done. In February 1961, Chester’s trial began and less than a month later, he was found guilty. He has maintained his innocence to this day and hopes that over 60 years after the murders and he is the only surviving character from this sordid tale. During the investigation and recording of season 1, Andy Hale uncovered a very important memo and police testimony from a telephone operator who overheard a conversation between two men about the murders. Now that this new information has come to light, Andy and Whitny are receiving tons of leads in about the Palmatier Brothers and Smokey Wrona’s involvement in the murders. While everyone waits patiently for the DNA results to come back in early August, the team is connecting with anyone that has a story to tell or potential lead, to see if they can unravel the mystery of the Starved Rock Murders once and for all.
The Podcast
“The Starved Rock Murders with Andy Hale Takes Silver at The Signal Awards for Best Exclusive Content + Experiences”
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