The Starved Rock Murders with Andy Hale

In this episode, Whitny Braun joins Andy for a discussion about the genetic genealogy results and Will County's refusal to vacate Chester's conviction. For more information, documents, photos, and other assets associated with and referenced in this episode visit andyhalepodcast.com.

In this episode, Andy discusses the disappointing news that, despite the genetic genealogy results, the Will County State's Attorney's Office is continuing to refuse to vacate Chester Weger's conviction. For more information, documents, photos, and other assets associated with and referenced in this episode visit andyhalepodcast.com.

In this episode, Andy sits down for a heartwarming and heartbreaking chat with Chester and his sister Mary about the long road to prove Chester's innocence. For more information, documents, photos, and other assets associated with and referenced in this episode visit andyhalepodcast.com.

In this episode, Andy and Whitny discuss the recent results of genetic genealogy testing and the significant implications it has for Chester's case. For more information, documents, photos, and other assets associated with and referenced in this episode visit andyhalepodcast.com.

In this case update episode, Andy and Whitny discuss the court's recent ruling granting Chester Weger's petition for leave to file a successive post-conviction petition and the significance of this court ruling for the case moving forward. For more information, documents, photos, and other assets associated with and referenced in this episode visit andyhalepodcast.com.

In this case update episode, Andy and Whitny discuss the court’s ruling denying a new special prosecutor, Chester Weger’s request for additional DNA testing and genetic genealogy testing, and the controversial “John Reid” polygraph technique. For more information, documents, photos, and other assets associated with and referenced in this episode visit andyhalepodcast.com.

In this case update episode, Andy and Whitny discuss the recently filed motion to appoint a new special prosecutor and Whitny offers her opinions on why the Will County State's Attorney's Office has done so little to investigate the case. For more information, documents, photos, and other assets associated with and referenced in this episode visit andyhalepodcast.com.

In this bonus episode, we discuss the recent filing of Chester’s Petition for Post-Conviction Relief, where the case goes from here, and some of the legal improprieties involved in Chester’s case. To support Chester's GoFundMe click here! For more information, documents, photos, and other assets associated with and referenced in this episode visit andyhalepodcast.com.

There are many words associated with the Christmas season. Presents…cookies…family…egg nog and snow…but the spirit of Christmas is perhaps most closely associated with one word in particular: HOPE. In this bonus episode, as Christmas approaches, we wanted to share a conversation we had with Chester and his family. We also go into greater detail on the States Attorney's Office and the road we've ta...

In this bonus episode, we break down that decision and provide a roadmap of where we go from here, including additional forensic testing.  For more information, documents, photos, and other assets associated with and referenced in this episode visit andyhalepodcast.com. -- And also exciting news! The Starved Rock Murders with Andy Hale is a finalist in the Signal Awards for "Best Exclusive Content...

The plot thickens… If the 60+ year saga of the Starved Rock Murders were a three act play, the first act would be the crime itself, the second act would be the decades that passed and the rumors and whispers that swirled around the truth of what really happened…and the third act would provide the answers and an ending that brought the whole tale to some sort of resolution.  We sit now on the cusp...

The long-awaited DNA results are in. In this special bonus episode we break down the results and their massive impact on the case. For more information, documents, photos, and other assets associated with and referenced in this episode visit andyhalepodcast.com.

This massive break in the case involves a woman reaching out to Andy and recounting a story she had been told by a family member about the Starved Rock Murders. For more information, documents, photos, and other assets associated with and referenced in this episode visit andyhalepodcast.com.

The biggest mistake anyone can make when it comes to the Starved Rock Murders is to think that this is simply a tragic episode relegated to an obscure chapter of 20th century history that no longer has any impact on any of our lives other than as intellectual fodder for a podcast. Make no mistake, this case is more relevant now than ever. Because, 62 years after the crime, the man who was sentence...

In a criminal trial in the United States, the courts require that the jury find the accused to be guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. It is the highest standard in the courts for evidence. In the case of Chester Weger, can anyone who knows the facts of the case, in good conscience, say that they believe he committed these murders beyond all reasonable doubt? Can any reasonable person who is presente...

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 miscar...

In 1961 when Chester Weger was convicted and sentenced to life in prison – the State knew that they had presented a false narrative to the jury. They knew their case was built on one false assertion after another and they proceeded anyway. The State knew that the tree limb could not have been the murder weapon. They knew from multiple reports that there had to have been more than one assailant. Th...

When Chester Weger went to trial in 1961, it was heralded by the media as the “Trial of the Century.” Throngs of people, ranging from hungry journalists to curious citizens, lined up outside the LaSalle County Courthouse in Ottawa, Illinois to try and get a coveted seat in the gallery. The quiet Illinois Valley community had never seen a spectacle of this kind. The press, armed with giant cameras...

Solving a murder mystery is like solving a jigsaw puzzle in that you can’t see the full picture emerge until each individual piece interlocks with another surrounding piece. Solving the Starved Rock Murders is like attempting a 10,000 piece jigsaw puzzle but without the guide of the picture on the box. One piece is William Palmatier. Another piece is his brother Glenn. Yet another is the mysteriou...

It’s an unfortunate reality that cold cases generally only grow colder with time. Evidence is lost. Memories fade. Witnesses die. Collective interest wanes. And eventually unsolved crimes become nothing more than local legends told around campfires. Hope of ever really finding answers all but vanishes. But sometimes the truth of what really happened in the past survives in something as simple as a...

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...

A common response from those who subscribe to the belief that Chester Weger is guilty is simply: "he confessed...why would an innocent man confess? Surely no innocent person would ever confess to attacking three women and bashing their faces in before dragging them to a cave in the woods." In 1960 a confession was a one-way ticket to life in prison or the electric chair, and to most people a false...

In the days following the murders law enforcement and the public seemed to gravitate towards the belief that only a depraved lunatic could have perpetrated such a heinous and depraved crime. Because who else but a madman would have reason to harm three lovely church-going ladies with no enemies? But did these women truly have no enemies? How much do we really know about the motive for the murders?...

Handwritten police notes, dating to the weeks and months, following the triple homicide at Starved Rock State Park indicate that hundreds of people were questioned. A spectrum of characters ranging from the women's restroom attendant at the lodge, to known sex offenders from as far away as Chicago, and interstate truck drivers, were all pressed as to their whereabouts on the afternoon of Monday, M...

Imagine being any one of the members of law enforcement standing in St. Louis Canyon on March 16th, 1960. These were small town cops who had spent most of their careers dealing with domestic disputes, bar brawls and livestock theft. Suddenly, they were responsible for investigating the most high profile murder in the state’s history. All three women seemed to have been left posed. Their arms and l...