The DNA results in Chester Weger’s Starved Rock case excluded him as the source of a hair recovered from victim Frances Murphy’s glove and, through genetic genealogy, pointed to one of three deceased brothers from Utica, Illinois. A La Salle County judge nonetheless ruled the findings inconclusive in June 2025, citing decades-old chain-of-custody problems and a plausible cross-contamination pathway. Weger died four days after the ruling without being exonerated.
What the Testing Actually Showed
After Weger’s 2020 parole, his attorney Andy Hale obtained court approval to send eight items of surviving evidence to Bode Technology, a Virginia-based forensic lab. Only one item yielded a usable DNA profile: a single hair found on the left index finger of Frances Murphy’s glove.1WCBU. Attorney Believes DNA Evidence Will Clear Chester Weger
The location mattered to the defense. The tip of Murphy’s left index finger had been severed postmortem, and Weger’s team argued the hair could have been torn from the attacker during a struggle.2NPR Illinois. Attorney: DNA Evidence From a Hair May Clear Chester Weger
In August 2022, Bode’s report concluded that the DNA profile from that hair did not match Weger. The lab stated explicitly that he was “excluded as a possible contributor.”3Rolling Stone. Starved Rock Murder Chester Weger DNA
Who the DNA Pointed To
Follow-up genetic genealogy analysis traced the hair to one of three deceased brothers from the Utica, Illinois, area: Leo Bray (1892–1972), Charles Bray (1894–1981), and Edward Bray (1900–1960). Weger’s attorneys named the brothers in a March 2024 court filing and argued there was “no reasonable explanation” for one of their hairs to be on Murphy’s glove unless he was involved in the murders.4Shaw Local News Network. Weger Names Men Linked by DNA Genealogy to Starved Rock Murders
One coincidence weakened that argument. Edward Bray died on March 16, 1960, the same day the victims’ bodies were discovered. His death certificate was signed by the same deputy coroner who processed the crime scene, opening a cross-contamination theory the prosecution would later rely on.5Chicago Sun-Times. Starved Rock Killer Chester Weger Conviction
Why the Judge Rejected the DNA
A third-stage post-conviction evidentiary hearing ran from May 12 through May 28, 2025, before La Salle County Judge Michael C. Jansz.6Will County State’s Attorney’s Office. Statement on La Salle County Judge Affirming Chester Weger’s Starved Rock Murder Conviction On June 18, 2025, Jansz denied Weger’s petition to vacate the conviction.
The judge accepted that the defense’s forensic experts were credible but found the DNA results inconclusive. He identified “chain of evidence” problems, noting the glove and hair had not been properly stored across more than six decades. He specifically pointed to the deputy coroner who handled both the crime scene and Edward Bray’s body on March 16, 1960, as a route by which Bray’s hair could have been inadvertently transferred to the glove. The DNA results, Jansz wrote, were “not sufficiently conclusive for the court to lose confidence in the guilty verdict.”7Starved Rock Media. Chester Weger’s Murder Conviction Will Stand After He’s Denied Exoneration
The Witness Testimony the Judge Also Dismissed
The DNA sat alongside witness testimony advancing an alternate theory that the killings were a mob-linked contract murder. Roy Tyson testified that Harold “Smokey” Wrona, a La Salle County figure who died in 2005, told him in 1996 he had been offered $30,000 to plan the killings.8Shaw Local News Network. Mini-Trial for Chester Weger Enters Second Day of Testimonies Melissa Smith testified that her grandfather, Roy Grizzi, confessed on his deathbed that the murders were a “mob hit” and that Weger was innocent.9Shaw Local News Network. No Last-Minute Witness in Starved Rock Murders Mini-Trial
Jansz found Tyson “not credible,” calling his account illogical and noting he grew defensive under cross-examination. Smith’s testimony was dismissed as unreliable hearsay. Testimony from Randy Reynolds and James Woods, who said former investigators had disavowed Weger’s involvement, was deemed “not believable” or “speculative.” Jansz observed that many defense witnesses came forward only after a “social media explosion” around the case.10Shaw Local News Network. Denied: Weger Conviction in 1960 Starved Rock Murder Case Stands
The defense also pointed to a 1960 Illinois Bell operator’s report describing an overheard call in which one man told another that “the kid has bloodstained overalls in the trunk of the car” and was told to burn them. Investigators traced the call to brothers Glen and William Palmatier; Glen passed a polygraph, and no further investigation followed. Weger’s attorney called the report a “smoking gun,” emphasizing that Weger did not own a car in 1960.11Chicago Sun-Times. Starved Rock Killer Chester Weger Smoking Gun Police Report The ruling did not treat any of this as sufficient to overcome the confessions the 1961 jury heard.
What the DNA Was Trying to Undo
Weger, then a 21-year-old dishwasher at the Starved Rock Lodge, confessed to killing Lillian Oetting, Frances Murphy, and Mildred Lindquist in the early hours of November 17, 1960, after being brought to the State’s Attorney’s office in Ottawa, served with nine warrants, and placed in a lineup. He signed a written confession and later reenacted the crimes at the park, signing a second statement.12Justia. The People v. Weger
He recanted before trial and said the confession had been coerced, describing being kept awake for more than 24 hours, threatened with “truth serum,” and told by a sheriff’s deputy that he would “ride a thunderbolt” if he refused to confess. A former assistant state’s attorney confirmed at trial that he heard the deputy use the terms “thunderbolt” and “chair.”13Chicago Magazine. Unmaking a Murderer12Justia. The People v. Weger
He was tried only for the murder of Lillian Oetting. FBI lab work on a leather jacket he admitted wearing that day found only trace amounts of human blood that could not be matched to the victims. The prosecution’s case rested on his confessions. The jury convicted; he received life.13Chicago Magazine. Unmaking a Murderer The Illinois Supreme Court affirmed in September 1962, finding the confessions voluntary.12Justia. The People v. Weger He was paroled on February 21, 2020, at age 80 after 23 prior denials, then a 9–4 board vote in his favor.
What Happened After the Ruling
Chester Weger died on June 22, 2025, four days after Judge Jansz’s ruling, of lung cancer in Missouri. He was 86.14Northern Public Radio. Starved Rock Killer Chester Weger Dies at 86 After Five Years of Freedom
His attorney had filed a motion to reconsider the June 18 ruling. On June 30, 2025, Jansz declared the motion void because it had been filed after Weger’s death. With no surviving party to pursue the appeal, the court held that the conviction stands.15Shaw Local News Network. La Salle County Judge Ends Weger Case, Says Motion Void After Death
One path remains. On June 22, 2026, Hale filed a petition for posthumous clemency with the Illinois Prisoner Review Board, arguing the petition contains new evidence of Weger’s innocence.16Shaw Local News Network. Weger Lawyer Seeks Posthumous Clemency The board is scheduled to review the petition in October 2026. A recommendation for a pardon would then go to Illinois Governor JB Pritzker for a final decision.17NBC Chicago. Family Pushes for Pardon of Man Convicted in 1960 Starved Rock Murders