Chester Weger’s family, who believes he was wrongly imprisoned for 60 years, has been given renewed hope in his quest for exoneration and a potential compensation of $120 million.
Weger, now 85 years old, was released on parole in 2019 for the murder of Lillian Oetting, among three women brutally killed in 1960 at Starved Rock State Park in Illinois.
He was just 21 years old at the time of the brutal slaying of Oetting, Mildred Lindquist, and Frances Murphy.
Weger, however, says he was aggressively forced into a confession of killing Oetting by overzealous cop William Dummett and his partner.
Although he had retracted his confession prior to the criminal trial in January 1961, Weger was convicted by a jury two months later and remained incarcerated for the next six decades despite 24 failed attempts to prove his innocence.
Will County officials have desperately tried to reject his exoneration bid and close the case.
However, with indefatigable Chicago-based attorney Andy Hale leading the charge to clear his client’s name and help secure a record-setting wrongful incarceration payment in the United States, the judge rejected the state’s attempt.
“Weger has presented sufficient evidence to advance this case to a third-stage evidentiary hearing, and the State’s motion
to dismiss is denied,” stated the court order.
Now, Hale will have the chance to present the “mountain” of evidence at a new trial scheduled for January 24.
“With this court ruling, we took a giant step forward and are now knocking on the door of justice. It’s been a long time coming for Chester and his family,” a triumphant Hale told The U.S. Sun.
“Not only was Chester excited by this development, but his sister Mary, her husband Ron, and their daughters Carrie and Nita, who have been such strong advocates for Chester all these years, were over the moon as well.”
The U.S. Sun has extensively reported on Weger’s desperate bid to prove his innocence and receive the bumper payout, which could help ease his family’s decades-long pain.
The state of Illinois awards $1 million to $2 million every year a person is wrongly imprisoned.
Earlier this year, Hale shared explosive evidence with The U.S. Sun, which he hoped could blow the case wide open: Local man Randy Reynolds signed an affidavit about hearing former cop Dummett boast at a retirement party in 1981 that he knew Weger was innocent and that he forced him into a confession.
Hale has also used cutting-edge genetic DNA testing to prove Weger’s innocence while continually stressing that the women were murdered as part of a vicious, planned mob hit in Chicago.
And an early 2022 affidavit admission provided by another local man, Roy Tyson, has breathed new life into Weger’s story, which was the subject of an HBO documentary crafted by Hollywood star Mark Wahlberg’s production company.
Tyson said he had a lengthy conversation with Harold “Smokey” Wrona in 1996 in which Wrona said he was contacted by underworld figures looking for a place to dispose of a body.
Wrona told Tyson that he became more directly involved in planning the Starved Rock murders and that Weger had nothing to do with it.
A written transcript of Tyson’s claim was previously used, but now he will appear in court and testify live. Hale hopes the admission could seal the deal once and for all.
“Now the judge can assess his credibility,” he said.
Although Judge Michael C. Jansz didn’t rule whether Tyson’s claims were credible, he did leave the door open for further examination in a few weeks.
“Chester was thrilled at the court’s ruling, knowing that we will finally get a chance to present our evidence in a courtroom,” Hale said.
Jansz said the affidavit “checked the three boxes” needed to keep Weger’s push alive, as the original trial verdict could have been altered had it been presented.
This is a great result, but we still have work. The job still needs to be finished. But, I’m looking forward to the road ahead.
Andy Hale
Earlier this year, the special prosecutor in the case filed a 78-page pleading saying that Weger was guilty of murder and that any new innocence bid should be rejected.
Hale, however, has renewed hope.
“Tyson’s testimony is crucial evidence in Chester Weger’s quest for exoneration and justice,” he confirmed.
THREE HORRIFIC MURDERS AT STARVED ROCK
In 1960, three women on a girls’ hiking trip met a horrific fate on March 14, suffering over 100 savage blows in what remains one of the most brutal murders on record.
Chester Weger, a dishwasher at the lodge where the women were staying, was convicted in 1961 for the murder of 50-year-old Lillian Oetting.
Despite this conviction, prosecutors opted not to pursue charges for the deaths of Oetting’s companions, Mildred Lindquist, 50, and Frances Murphy, 47, following Weger’s life sentence.
Decades later, wrongful conviction specialist Hale took up Weger’s case in 2016, striving to exonerate him while arguing long that overlooked evidence and possible mob connections could hold the key to the case.
One significant lead involves a phone operator’s testimony about overhearing two men discussing the killings on that tragic day.
The Starved Rock murders: A 64-year case
March 1960: Three women found murdered in Starved Rock National Park in Illinois. Weger, 21, is working as a kitchen hand there. Case becomes a huge national story.
November 1960: Weger is arrested and a day later confesses to one of the murders. The very next day, he backtracks, claiming abuse during the interrogation, led by William Dummett.
April 1961: Weger, who testified in his own defense, is sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of murdering Lillian Oetting.
April 1963: Weger pens a letter published in the Chicago Tribune stressing his innocence.
November 2019: After multiple attempts to secure his freedom, Weger’s request for parole is finally granted. An HBO documentary, produced by Mark Wahlberg’s production company, works on a film about Weger’s case.
February 2020: Weger is released after spending 60 years behind bars – just weeks before the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
December 2023: Attorney Andy Hale tells The U.S. Sun that cutting-edge DNA technology could prove a hair found on one of the victim’s hands will clear Weger and spark a record $120 million payout.
February 2024: Hale tells The U.S. Sun the DNA evidence was “unfairly rejected” by the Will County State Attorney James Glasgow
August 2024: Bombshell admission from a man who claims he overheard Detective Dummett bragging about forcing Weger to admit guilt is shared with The U.S. Sun ahead of crucial September hearing.
Hale has also championed the use of genetic genealogy, insisting it could revolutionize the investigation.
A pivotal piece of evidence—a hair found on one of the victims — was subjected to new DNA testing, which pointed to an unidentified local man.
Yet, LaSalle County State’s Attorney James Glasgow refused to accept the findings – he countered that because the hair was found on Murphy and not Oetting, whom Weger was accused of killing, it should be dismissed – triggering Hale’s ire.
Earlier this year, Glasgow filed a 78-page motion reaffirming Weger’s guilt in Oetting’s murder, maintaining that the original conviction was just, despite the questions and advancements that have since emerged.
“[Weger’s] repeated insistence that the ‘false confession’ was the only evidence against him is simply not true,” Glasgow assistant Colleen Griffin wrote.
Hale, however, now heads into the New Year energized.
“I’m so grateful to have met Chester; he has changed my life in many ways. His determination to prove his innocence all these decades has been such an inspiration,” he enthused.
“This is a great result, but we still have work. The job still needs to be finished. But, I’m looking forward to the road ahead.”
The U.S. Sun contacted Will State’s Attorney’s Office, but didn’t hear back.
