The Murders at Starved Rock

Craig Findley: Cooper, is everybody inside?

We're gonna have a new boardroom,

and we should be able to accommodate more people.

We had no anticipation that so many would be here today,

so I apologize for the, for the inconvenience.

Diane Oetting: Hi, everybody.

Two years ago,

the board was concerned by the continued refusal

on the part of Mr. Weger

to accept any responsibility or express any remorse.

The board felt that a release at that time

could jeopardize public safety.

This was two years ago.

If you let him go today,

does that mean that the crime wasn't brutal?

Does that mean he is expressing remorse?

No.

We've been fighting this for 40 years.

Our family has been accused of being part of the mob.

My grandfather was accused of setting up a hit,

and my grandmother and her friends

were going out to look at birds.

Thank you.

-Yes, ma'am. -I'm Chester's sister.

He is two years older than what I am.

He was my closest sibling,

and he has always maintained his innocence.

He has lost his life as you all know.

I just hope my brother does not die in prison.

Thank you.

If there's nothing further, I'll ask Janet to take the roll.

If he receives eight votes, he will be paroled.

If he does not, he will not.

-Miss Martinez. -Yes.

-Mr. Fisher. -Pete Fisher: No.

-Janet Crane: Mr. Ruggiero. -Joseph Ruggiero: No.

Mary Pruett: My family has always been involved in this.

It's not that we put him on a back-burner and forgot him.

We have lived this.

Not like my brother's had to live it,

but we have lived this by trying to help him.

Mr. James.

Oreal James: Yes.

-Janet: Mr. Brink. -Daniel Brink: Yes.

-Ms. Crigler. -Edith Crigler: Yes.

-Ms. Daniels. -Yes.

-Chairman Findley. -Findley: Yes.

You betcha. I will.

Kathy Etz: I don't know if members of the parole board

felt that, perhaps, he was innocent,

but it was extremely traumatizing,

and reopened the wounds of the tragedy.

The idea that he gets to be out of prison

while my grandmother is dead,

and I-I'm all for criminal justice reform,

but that does not mean letting a murderer out of prison.

So, yeah, I think that they messed up.

The day that he was granted parole,

my sister, she just started sobbing,

and, and said, "I'm so sorry, Mom," like...

and, um...

you know, I, you know, my mom was...

you know, just, it was,

it was incredibly upsetting for all of us.

Mary: You couldn't believe it was happening

after all we have been through, you know?

You just thought, uh, "We must be dreaming."

You know, it's been 60 years.

His life is gonna start.

This is your sister.

We just got through with the parole board,

and it was-- Guess what?

Chester Weger (on phone): I won.

-(friends cheering) -Andy Hale: We're so excited for you.

I can't wait to see ya in person,

and I know your family can't wait to see you.

Start living your life, get out and enjoy freedom.

-We love you. -Andy: We'll, we'll talk to you soon.

When I got involved with Chester's case in 2016,

I had never heard of the Starved Rock murders.

I wasn't born in 1960, but I read--

It was a front-page article in The Chicago Tribune about Chester Weger,

"Starved Rock Killer Denied Parole Again," right?

So, I was really intrigued.

This guy's maintained his innocence over decades and decades.

So, I decided to write Chester Weger a letter.

You know, when you look at false confessions,

and there are certain factors that lead to wrongful confessions,

the primary one is the threat of death.

Here you have uncontested evidence that Chester

was threatened multiple times with the death penalty.

The second thing is all the surveillance.

The thing's to break somebody's will,

and the coercion and the techniques,

it has all the hallmarks of a false confession.

Our first goal was just let's, let's get him out of prison.

But I think the more important step

is trying to show people that he's actually innocent.

Reporter 1: 24 times Chester Weger was up for parole.

On the 24th try, parole was granted.

Reporter 2: The longest-serving prisoner

in Illinois is about to go free.

DJ (on radio): Classic Hits 103.9, WLPO

talking about, uh, Chester Weger's parole.

I wonder if any of this had to do with the fact

that there's no Tony Raccuglia to fight to keep him in.

Tom Collins: I really think that was part of it,

Tony was such a vociferous advocate.

And credible 'cause he prosecuted him.

Tom: Yeah, I really think that Tony's passing

was not a minor factor in today's decision.

Tom Collins of The News Tribune,

thank you very much.

Tony Raccuglia died May 2019,

and then, at the next parole hearing,

Weger is, indeed, paroled,

and can't help but think,

maybe, Tony Raccuglia's pressure had something to do with it.

Tony Raccuglia was one of the most forceful guys I know when it comes to cases.

Even at his advanced age, when it came time for the parole board hearings,

he'd make sure that those board members

knew how Tony Raccuglia felt about this case.

Anthony Raccuglia: You know, Harland Warren just passed on.

I'm the only living person that had anything to do

with the prosecution of that case.

The Sheriff's Office, they're all dead.

The judge is dead. The court reporter is dead.

The defense lawyer is dead.

There's just me and Chester.

We're the only two left.

David Raccuglia: Of course, I was happy for his family,

that Chester Weger was paroled,

but I was still mourning the loss of my father,

and they were, kind of, wrapped up together,

so it was a strange, emotional time.

The state's attorney had suggested...

David: It was my father's death that made me wanna go back

to a lot of the footage, and look at it and see him.

It was a, a good cathartic experience for me to see him again.

This guy got caught...

David: But now, there's a potential

wrongful conviction in the air,

and I still-- I had a lot of questions.

I decided it was time for me to get to the bottom of this.

And so, I went back to 1960, and I studied it all.

You know, I, I feel like I've worked on this case for so long,

there might not be anything new, but there was.

Officer: If you can get out, and just go ahead,

and turn the car off, sir.

Chester: I got a seatbelt.

Person: He's gonna-- Yeah.

Reporter: Well, is it a good day?

-Reporter: Are you scared? -No, I'm not.

After all this time,

you've maintained, your, uh, innocence,

and how does it feel looking back, 60 years are gone?

Reporter: How do you feel? Are you excited?

Yes, I am.

Person 1: Okay, Dad, start the car up.

-Person 2: Thank you. -Chester: Thank you.

-Person 2: All right. -Person 3: Thank you very much.

That don't make sense.

Person: I know.

Old Chester Weger.

After 60 years,

60, 60 trips around the sun,

a man who's never admitted any wrongdoing,

he's gonna spend his, uh, remaining years trying to prove his innocence.

Get up, old man, get up.

Mwah!

-How are ya? -I'm all right.

Good, good, looking good.

Ooh, a little skinny. We need to fatten you up.

Chester: I'll be all right.

Person: We just thank you, dear Lord,

that Chester can get out of imprisonment, Lord,

and just pray that you'll continue to be with him and strengthen him, Lord,

and get him back into, into today's life, and just watch over him.

In Christ's name we pray these things, amen.

Amen.

Johnny Weger: You can't help but think, "What if?"

What if my dad wasn't in prison?

What if my mom hadn't remarried? What if, you know?

Oh, Dad.

Son.

You're all right, come on.

We'll be all right, we'll be okay.

-I'll be able to see you, and write to you and everything. -I know, yeah.

No, I'm just so happy.

I, I know, I'm happy to see you, too,

and Becky.

Johnny: He was convicted of Starved Rock murders,

I was four months old.

I didn't like nobody, I didn't like myself,

grew hair down to my ass,

put a chip on my shoulder,

and I kept it there for many years.

For my first burglary, we did four months together.

That's the most time I ever spent with my father