On Dec 3, 1957, Maria Ridulph (7) vanished from a small-town street corner in Sycamore, IL, while playing in the snow. Arrested in July 2011 and sentenced in December 2012 for her murder was Jack McCullough, formerly known as John Tessier. McCullough was released from prison on April 15, 2016. Charges against him were dismissed on April […]
Illinois
Joseph Halpern Part 3 by Silvia Pettem
Joseph’s nephew had started his search for his uncle, Joseph Halpern, missing since 1933, by contacting the sheriffs’ offices in the four Colorado counties that border Rocky Mountain National Park. The nephew asked about unidentified remains that might be identifiable with DNA comparisons. In 2009, when the NamUs System was inaugurated, the nephew, as a […]
Please share this post, thank you.
Joseph Halpern Part 2 by Silvia Pettem
For six days in August 1933, park authorities searched drainages and followed all possible trails for the missing 22-year-old hiker, Joseph Halpern. Authorities also checked the registers on Taylor and nearby peaks, but none showed Joseph’s signature––a customary procedure for climbers, once they reach a summit. Perhaps trying to be encouraging, a writer for the […]
Please share this post, thank you.
Joseph Halpern Part 1 by Silvia Pettem
In the summer of 1933, twenty-two-year-old Cook County, Illinois, resident Joseph Halpern was vacationing in Rocky Mountain National Park with his parents and Samuel Garrick, a college friend. The motorists had driven Joseph’s Ford sedan and had stopped in the Black Hills and at Yellowstone National Park on their way west. Even though the country […]
Please share this post, thank you.
Reversal Juan Rivera Conviction
From the New York Times: “In an opinion that harshly criticizes the tactics of the police and prosecutors, an Illinois appellate court on Friday night reversed the conviction of Juan Rivera, who has spent 19 years in jail for the 1992 rape and murder of an 11-year-old baby sitter in a suburb of Chicago. There […]
Please share this post, thank you.
National Police Week 2011: Tribute to Tatman
Champaign, Illinois: On November 25, 1967, police found patrol officer Tatman lying on his back in front of his own squad car, the motor still running, it’s revolving lights still on, and the front door at the driver’s side open. His flashlight was lying on his left side. His hat was on the ground near the […]
Please share this post, thank you.
Illinois abolishes capital punishment
He finally did it. Illinois Governor Pat Quinn abolished capital punishment. Quinn also commuted the sentences of all 15 inmates remaining on Illinois’ death row. They will now serve life in prison. From the Washington Post: “State lawmakers voted in January to abandon capital punishment, and Quinn spent two months reflecting on the issue, speaking […]
Please share this post, thank you.
Update Betty Gene Hull
Investigators will check if any materials found at the Betty Gene Hull crime scene can be tested with modern technology for touch DNA. On Christmas Eve, Dec 24th, 1991, Mrs. Betty Gene Hull was found dead. She was 68 years old. When police arrived, it was immediately clear that whoever is responsible for her death was in […]
