In the months following the murders at Starved Rock countless reports, memos, and other assorted documents were created. Some were preserved. Some were filed away and are still waiting to be discovered in rusty filing cabinets or disintegrating evidence boxes somewhere. Others have simply been lost or destroyed leaving us with only part of the story.
But of the thousands of pages that still remain, there are clues to what really happened in 1960. Sometimes sifting through these clues for something new, something relevant, something that can actually explain the truth of what happened can feel like searching for the proverbial needle in a haystack.
But once in a case, sometimes once in a lifetime, you find that needle, that smoking gun… For the Starved Rock Murder case that is the Zelensek Memo, an interview that Andy stumbled upon over the last weekend as he combed over old information with a new understanding of the case.
This episode shares what’s in that memo, why it is important to the case, examines newspaper articles sharing the details of what happened because of the Zelensek memo, and what it all means for Chester.
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 from the Episode
Click to view and download