Episode 355: The Starved Rock Murders

On March 14, 1960, 47-year-old Frances Murphy, 50-year-old Mildred Lindquist, and 50-year-old Lillian Oetting took a four-day trip to Starved Rock State Park, in LaSalle County, Illinois. After checking into the Starved Rock Lodge, the three women decided to take an afternoon hike to the St. Louis Canyon. Unfortunately, they were never seen alive again. Two days later, Frances, Mildred and Lillian were found inside a cave in the canyon. All 3 women were partially nude, bound with twine and their faces had been bludgeoned beyond recognition. Over 60 years later a lot of theories and questions still surround their case. Did they catch the right man, are there other individuals responsible, has justice really been served??

Sources for this episode:

https://www.halemonico.com/a-hale-news/chester-weger-and-the-starved-rock-murders/

https://idnc.library.illinois.edu/?a=d&d=DIL19600317.2.10&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN----------

https://idnc.library.illinois.edu/?a=d&d=DIL19601118.2.7&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN----------

https://time.com/archive/6622274/crime-murder-in-starved-rock/

https://medium.com/@brutalnation/was-he-really-an-evil-killer-or-victim-of-a-colossal-conspiracy-e4c34184c039

https://www.strangeoutdoors.com/true-crime-in-the-outdoors/starved-rock-murders

https://chicago.suntimes.com/2023/12/14/24001828/starved-rock-killer-chester-weger-conviction-overturned-dna-hair

https://www.americanhauntingsink.com/the-starved-rock-murders

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2016/12/11/the-1960-starved-rock-murders/

https://chicago.suntimes.com/2023/5/30/23735873/starved-rock-killer-chester-weger-james-glasgow-lillian-oetting-frances-murphy-mildred-linquist

https://www.starvedrock.media/wlpo/weger-attorney-hails-bombshell-evidence-claims-findings-exonerate-confessed-murderer/article_d19b2718-9e06-11ee-a4ce-431bf053d255.html