In 1960, three housewives from Chicago never make it out of Starved Rock State Park alive and police in Illinois quickly realize a piece of nature itself is the murder weapon. The investigation zeros in on a predator who was hiding in plain sight.
The Episode
- Chicago Tribune: “Timeline: The March 1960 Starved Rock murders and convicted killer Chester Weger’s release from prison,” by Christy Gutowski and Kori Rumore
- ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS INTERNET INMATE STATUS, C01114 – Weger, Chester
- Daily Illini: “Three Chicago Women Die After Attack in State Park”
- LIFE: “Ghostly Images of A Ghastly Murder”
- Daily Illini: “Starved Rock Ex-Dish Washer Admits March Triple-Slaying”
- Chicago Tribune: “Full Confession of Killer,” no author, and “How 3 Victims Battled to Stay Alive,” by Sandy Smith & Thomas Powers
- Chicago Tribune: “Jurors indict starved rock triple slayer”
- Chicago Tribune: “Claim killer of 3 had aid”
- Chicago Tribune: “Threats Made Him Confess, Weger Claims,” by Sandy Smith
- Chicago Tribune: “Weger Claims Threat Forced His Confession,” by Sandy Smith
- Daily Illini: “State Probes Starved Rock Killing In Effort To Send Weger to Chair”
- LIFE: “The Case of the Overlooked Clues”
- Daily Illini: “Witnesses Deny Weger Threatened When He Confessed Triple Slaying”
- Chicago Tribune: “Weger Tells Jury: I Didn’t Kill 3 Women,” by Sandy Smith
- Daily Illini: “Weger Claims Deputy Sheriff Forced Criminal Confession”
- Daily Illini: “Weger Defense Rests”
- Daily Illini: “Weger Verdict Delayed”
- Chicago Tribune: “Jury fixes penalty in state park killing,” by Sandy Smith
- Chicago Tribune: “Jail won’t hold me: Weger,” by Sandy Smith
- Daily Illini: “Weger Lawyer To Seek New Trial, Claims 1st Hearing Was Prejudiced”
- Chicago Tribune: “Weger, Poker Faced, Hears Life Sentence,” by Sandy Smith
- Daily Illini: “Chester Weger Moves to Joliet To Serve Term”
- Justia, The PEOPLE v. Weger, Supreme Court of Illinois
- Chicago Tribune: “Court drops rape charges against Weger”
- Chicago Tribune: “Drop effort to get death sentence for Rocky Weger,” by Thomas Powers
- Chicago Tribune: “Weger Pictures Himself as Hero in Writing Jail Autobiography,” by Thomas Powers
- Chicago Tribune: “Evidence in ’60 killing tainted,” by Karen Mellen
- The Pantagraph: “Governor denies request of man convicted in Starved Rock murder,” by Greg Stanmar
- Chicago Tribune: “Inmate convicted in 1960 Starved Rock slayings makes plea for parole,” by Christy Gutowski
- Chicago Tribune: “Starved Rock killer Chester Weger, convicted in an infamous 1960 murder case, is granted parole,” by Christy Gutowski
- Chicago Tribune: “Starved Rock killer falls one vote short of parole after nearly 60 years in prison,” by Christy Gutowski
- “The Starved Rock Murders Illinois History and Horror” by American Hauntings
- Chicago Tribune: “Man Convicted of Infamous 1960 Starved Rock Killing Is Just Days Away From Getting Out of Prison” by Christy Gutowski
- The News Tribune: “Starved Rock Murderer Chester Weger Released From Prison” By NewsTribune staff
- The Atlanta Journal Constitution: “Chester Weger Still Maintains His Innocence In The 1960 Beating Deaths of 3 Women in Illinois Park” by Christy Gutowski
- “The Starved Rock Murders” Documentary by Hunter James Cox
- CBS2: “Charlie De Mar, Convicted ‘Starved Rock Killer’ Chester Weger Released From Prison”
- Starved Rock State Park Information