Even though the murders at Starved Rock took place over six decades ago the anger, frustrations, fear, grief and guilt experienced by all of the people involved feel as palpable today as they did in 1960. Three women lost their lives, one man went to prison for sixty years, children lost parents, parents lost their children, and countless other souls became collateral damage in a horrendous miscarriage of justice that has left generational trauma and shattered lives in its wake. The question that haunts anyone who touches this case is what motivated this brutal crime? What demons possessed whoever performed this heinous act to savagely take the lives of three innocent women? Was it money? Was it lust? Greed? What sin drove someone to want one or more of these women dead and why?
To do justice to this case, we must peel back all of the layers of the onion, no matter how much it might sting. The victims, the accused, and the families and community members whose lives were forever altered deserve the truth. Andy and Whitny go over the different possible motives for murder, depending on the scenario. The also share their time with Bill Jansen, the FBI consultant on the case in 1960, and answers some questions from listeners that wrote in.
This episode is a continuation of The Trial of the Century. There is a lot more to this conversation so make sure you listen to the episode and take a look at the documents and photographs provided and outlined below for more context to the discussion and the case! For our audience without the ability to listen to the audio, check out the full transcript provided!
Referenced Documents in the Episode
Click to view and download