Timeline: The March 1960 Starved Rock murders and convicted killer Chester Weger’s release from prison
On March 14 1960, three Chicago-area women set out for a hike at Starved Rock State Park near Utica, Ill. They never returned. Here’s a look back at their case and theman who was convicted of the crime thenreleased from prison on Feb. 21, 2020.
March 14, 1960
Lillian Oetting, 50, Frances Murphy, 47, and Mildred Linquist, 50, leave their Riverside homes in suburban Chicago for a four-day vacation at Starved Rock State Park near Utica, Illinois. They check into the Starved Rock Lodge and ate lunch before heading out on an afternoon hike through St. Louis Canyon, a popular attraction framed by a scenic waterfall and high rock walls. The women, wives of prominent Chicago businessmen, are never seen alive again.
March 15, 1960
Chester Weger, a 21-year-old dishwasher at Starved Rock Lodge who is married with two children, arrives at work with scratches on his face, lodge employeeslater tell police. Weger claims he was writing letters at the lodge at the time of the murders.
March 16, 1960
The women’s bodies are discovered in a cave. They were bound, partially nude and bludgeoned to death, each having injuries consistent with suffering more than 100 blows. Authorities believe the killer or killers caused the catastrophic head injuries by swinging a frozen tree limb that was found nearby and stained with blood.
Mid-April 1960
A third lie detector test given to Weger fails to link him in the crime.
September 1960
Investigatorsbegin nonstop surveillance on Weger after finding lengths of twine — similar to that used to bind the hands of the slain women — in a toolshed near the lodge, which had been used by Weger. They also say Weger matches the description of an assailant who reportedly bound a teenage girl with twine then raped her in a nearby park just months before the Starved Rock killings.
Sept. 23, 1960
Wegerfails a series of polygraph tests.
Nov. 16, 1960
LaSalle County State’s Attorney Harland Warren orders Weger’s arrest.
Nov. 17, 1960
Weger confesses to the murders and leads investigators in a reenactment of them. Prosecutors said Weger knew things only the killer could have known, such as the fact that a red-and-white airplane flew over the canyon the day of the murders.
“I was taking a walk thru the woods when I turned into the canyon and I spotted them coming toward me. I got the idea to rob them. I grabbed at what I thought was a purse one of the women was carrying. The strap broke.”
— Chester Weger, in his confession
Nov. 18, 1960
A LaSalle County grand juryindicts Weger for the murder of the three Riverside women and names him in three other incidents charging robbery, larceny, assault with a deadly weapon and rape in two crimes in Matthiessen State Park, just three miles from Starved Rock.
Nov. 19, 1960
Nov. 22, 1960
Weger says threats of electrocution and an offer of a “deal” by LaSalle County authoritiesimpelled him to confess to the Starved Rock State Park triple murder.
Dec. 19, 1960
Claiming he was frightened into confessing by threats of death in the electric chair, Wegerpleads not guilty in the Starved Rock State Park triple murder.
Feb. 7, 1961
Weger’s 3-year-old daughter, Becky, is barred from attending her father’s murder trial to prevent the jury from being swayed by her big blue eyes, golden curls and “winsome smile.”
Feb. 27, 1961
After three hours of cross-examination, Wegerdenies any involvement in the murder of three women at Starved Rock State Park.
“I never killed anybody.”
— Chester Weger, testifying in LaSalle County Circuit Court
March 3, 1961
Weger isconvicted in the murder of Lillian Oetting. The jury — made up of seven women and five men — fixes his punishment at life imprisonment. Two jurors become dismayed upon learning that Weger could be eligible for parole in 20 years. As he’s led out of court, two sheriff’s deputiesreport hearing Weger say, “You’ll never hold me.”
“We though we were inflicting a penalty worse than the electric chair.”
— Nancy Porter, a juror in the Chester Weger trial
April 3, 1961
Weger issentenced to life imprisonment for Lillian Oetting’s murder and Judge Leonard Hoffman rejects Weger’s plea for a new trial a few months later. Later, prosecutors, citing Weger’s life sentence, opt against trying him for the other two women’s deaths. Weger istaken to the Illinois state penitentiary in Joliet to begin his life sentence. He’s assigned prison number 48223.
Sept. 28, 1962
The Illinois Supreme Courtupholds Weger’s conviction and life sentence.
Feb. 8, 1963
Rape and robbery charges stemming from 1959,are dismissed since Weger was not brought to trial on the charges within four months of his arrest, as required by law.
April 17, 1963
The state gives a variety of reasons forabandoning efforts to get the death penalty for Weger, including the reluctance of some juries to impose the death sentence.
April 20, 1963
While serving a life sentence, Wegerpens an autobiography and gives the 48-page manuscript to a Chicago Tribune reporter. In it, Weger proclaims his innocence.
“Now there’s nothing in the world that I needed bad enough to kill for on March 14, 1960.”
— Chester Weger, in his handwritten autobiography
July 8, 2004
DNA testing on items, including Weger’s coat and hair found in the victims’ fists, shows theevidence has been contaminated. After Weger’s conviction in 1961, and after appeals were exhausted, prosecutors allowed school groups, civic clubs and student journalists to handle and examine the evidence.
June 2007
Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevichdenies Weger’s clemency petition.
Dec. 15, 2016
Weger, Illinois’ third longest-held inmate in a state prison, isdenied parole in an 11-2 vote.
Nov. 29, 2018
Weger fallsone vote short of winning his release from prison — his 23rd time denied parole.
Starved Rock killer falls one vote short of parole after nearly 60 years in prison – me and@MikeRiopell keep up on this fascinating, tragic casehttps://t.co/uACCa4eDZJ
— Christy Gutowski (@ChristyGutowsk1)November 29, 2018
Nov. 21, 2019
Weger isgranted parole on his 24th try, in a 9-4 vote. State officials are seeking to have Weger evaluated under the state’s sexually violent persons law, which allows for continued civil commitment if a person is deemed sexually violent.
Mary Pruett – the younger sister of Chester Weger – quotes her deceased mom while pleading with the Illinois Prisoner Review Board for his release in the infamous 1960 Starved Rock murders. “One day we’ll see him walking home. I just hope my brother does not die in prison.”pic.twitter.com/aq2S8Cs81H
— Christy Gutowski (@ChristyGutowsk1)November 21, 2019
Feb. 13, 2020
Weger’s release from prison had been delayed 90 days after Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s office sought to have him evaluated under the state’s Sexually Violent Persons Commitment Act. The law requires proof that a person suffers from a mental disorder, and that it is substantially probable he or she will commit acts of sexual violence as a result.
A spokesperson for Raoul’s office said experts who evaluated Weger foundhe did not meet the legal criteria, and so they will not file a petition in court arguing he should be involuntarily committed. Under the law, Weger could have been held indefinitely in a secured facility in the custody of the Illinois Department of Human Services for sex offender treatment.
Feb. 21, 2020
Weger, 80, isreleased from Pinckneyville Correctional Center.
“They ruined my life. They locked me up for 60 years for something I’ve never done.”
— Chester Weger, after his release from prison
The infamous Starved Rock killer was freed at about 8:30 am after 60 years in prison. Reporters weren’t allowed on property but caught up w/Chester Weger as he headed to Chicago. At 80, he complained of arthritis and being allegedly railroaded but was happy to be free w/family.pic.twitter.com/3COZq5mRSJ
— Christy Gutowski (@ChristyGutowsk1)February 21, 2020
June 22, 2025
Weger died of cancer in Kansas City, surrounded by his family, his attorney Andy Hale said. He was 86 years old.
“Chester fought until the end to clear his name,” Hale said. “We are deeply saddened that Chester’s legacy is marred by this unjust conviction.”
Man known as ‘Starved Rock Killer,’ who long fought for his freedom, dies of cancer
