Latest news with #FrancesMurphy
CBS News
13 hours ago
- CBS News
"Starved Rock Killer" Chester Weger dies at 86, attorney confirms
Chester Weger, most infamously known as the "Starved Rock Killer," has died at age 86. His longtime attorney Andy Hale confirmed his death, saying he died peacefully Sunday, surrounded by family. Weger became notorious after he was convicted in the murder of a woman in the Starved Rock State Park in 1960. He confessed to killing three women there when he was 21 years old, while he was a dishwasher at the lodge. The bodies of Lillian Oetting, Mildred Lindquist and Frances Murphy were found partially nude and beaten to death in St. Louis Canyon in the state park. Eight months after, Weger told police he murdered three women from the Chicago suburbs. Weger was tried for Oetting's murder and convicted; the murders of Murphy and Lindquist did not go to trial. He later claimed he had been coerced into confessing, telling CBS News Chicago in 2010 that he had been threatened by the sheriff. Weger was sentenced to life in prison for Oetting's death. He first applied for parole in 1972. Twenty-four of his parole requests were denied until 2019; he was released from prison in 2020. Since his release, Weger had attempted to get a new trial for Oetting's murder, sticking to his claims of innocence. His request for a new trial was denied last week. Please note: The above story is from a previous report
CBS News
6 days ago
- CBS News
No new trial for "Starved Rock Killer" Chester Weger
There will be no new trial for the man known as the Starved Rock Killer, convicted in the death of a woman in the Illinois state park in 1960. Attorneys for 86-year-old Chester Weger had been asking for a new trial, saying he was wrongfully convicted. Weger first confessed to killing three women at Starved Rock State Park when he was 21 years old. He had been a dishwasher at the lodge. He told police he had murdered three middle-aged women from the Chicago suburbs eight months after their bodies were found, partially nude and beaten to death, in St. Louis Canyon. He was convicted of murdering Lillian Oetting, and also allegedly killed her companions Mildred Lindquist and Frances Murphy though he did not go to trial for their murders. Weger later claimed he had been coerced into making his confession, and told CBS News Chicago in 2010 that he had been threatened by the sheriff. He was sentenced to life in prison, was released in 2020 after being granted parole. All 24 of his previous parole requests had been denied since 1972.
