IL IL - Maria Ridulph, 7, Sycamore, 3 Dec 1957

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It was only last year that a former neighbor and one-time police officer, Jack Daniel McCullough, was charged with kidnapping and murdering the brown-eyed youngster. His trial — nearly 55 years after Maria was slain — is believed to be one of the oldest murder prosecutions ever attempted, authorities have said.

A key witness will be Sigman, who is expected to testify she still recognizes the now-72-year-old McCullough as the man she saw with her friend on the night Maria vanished. “The defendant thought he could get away with it,” State’s Attorney Clay Campbell said of the killing. “What he couldn’t count on was that Kathy Sigman could never forget his face.”

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/newreply.php?do=newreply&noquote=1&p=8349888
 
The victim:


25fov7o.jpg


http://www.google.com/imgres?q=mari...nw=86&start=0&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:7,s:0,i:97
 
Thanks for keeping up with this case Cubbie. It's so wonderful that he is being brought to justice. Finally.
 
I hope he gets convicted. Even if for some reason he doesn't I'm glad that her family and friends got the closure that so many don't get to have.
 
Witnesses remember anxious night when Maria Ridulph went missing

Well worth the read. I'd snip all of it if it weren't for copyright.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-mccullough-trial-0910-20120911,0,6628245.story

A friend of the defendents girlfriend describes how 'Johnny' was supposed to pick them up the night of Maria's disappearance, but never showed.

Also from the above link:

Detective Irene Lau said that when officers asked McCullough what he recalled of the girl, he said Maria was "stunningly beautiful," and "lovely, lovely, lovely." But he vehemently denied any role in her death, Lau said.

Reading the defendents comments are like a kick in the gut. Prayers for the Ridulph family and those who knew Maria.

...and praying for justice. :please:
 
Friend recalls moments before Ridulph's disappearance

Sigman, 62, of St. Charles, said the following months were filled with daily contact with the police and FBI, she said, as she saw "thousands" of photographs and "probably 100" lineups in an effort to identify Johnny.

It was not until she was approached by Illinois State Police almost 53 years later, on Sept. 9, 2010, that Sigman was able to identify a picture of McCullough as the man she saw that day.


Defense attorneys questioned Sigman about what she could remember of "Johnny" from that night, asking about boots, belts and other details Sigman said she could not recall.

They also asked her what she focused on when she met the man on Dec. 3 and she stressed she was focused on his face, not his boots or belt.

Katheran Caulfield, the half-sister of McCullough, also took the stand Tuesday and said her mother told authorities the day after Ridulph's disappearance that McCullough had been at home in Sycamore on Dec. 3.

http://www.daily-chronicle.com/2012...before-ridulphs-disappearance/am5sxjg/?page=1

 
SYCAMORE – A forensic anthropologist testified this morning that three deep cuts to bones of Maria Ridulph's throat and chest area looked to have been made by a knife blade.

<snip>

Latham acknowledged that it is possible the cut marks were made during the original autopsy of Maria's remains, but their location doesn't match what's noted in that report.
The state's first witness of the day, Christopher Diaz, is an inmate at the DeKalb County Jail who wrote prosecutors a letter regarding conversations he overheard in the jail. He testified that between Sept. 1-3, he heard McCullough telling another inmate – who is scheduled to testify as a John Doe witness – details regarding the case and Maria's death, including how he strangled her with a wire.

Diaz, whose testimony was at one point interrupted by a fire alarm going off in the courthouse, said he heard McCullough say the state offered him a deal in the case, "and he specifically said, '(Expletive) that.'"

http://www.daily-chronicle.com/2012...nes-show-three-deep-cut-marks/aadiqja/?page=1
 
I don't know what to think about the prison inmate witnesses who allegedly discussed or overheard a conversation(s) regarding this case. My first question is why would McCullough discuss any of this with any inmates. I hope the state presents some good evidence as to why this testimony is credible. I hope we see why they should be considered credible in the media.
 
The following is from yesterday, I missed it earlier.

McCullough’s half-sister says their mom implicated him in 1994


SYCAMORE – Eileen Tessier was weeks from her death in January 1994 when her daughter, Janet Tessier, said Eileen told her a terrible secret from her hospital bed. It was about Jack McCullough, Eileen’s son and Janet’s half-brother.
“She grabbed my wrist and said, ‘Those two little girls, the one that disappeared, John did it,’ ” Janet Tessier testified in DeKalb County court Tuesday. “ ‘You’ve got to tell somebody.’ ”

http://www.daily-chronicle.com/2012...ays-their-mom-implicated-him-in-1994/ati7gzb/



'John did it, John did it – and you have to tell someone': Mother named her OWN SON as killer of seven-year-old Pretty Maria in deathbed confession.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ear-old-Pretty-Maria-deathbed-confession.html
 
Inmate says Sycamore slaying suspect talked of killing girl

There are a few different versions of what McCullough allegedly described in a conversation or conversations with the 'john doe' witness. Followed by:

McCullough, the man said, liked to talk and would get "amped up" when discussing the crime.
"It was like he couldn't stop himself," the prisoner said. "He would keep going and going."

Additionally, one of the investigators who traveled with McCullough on his return trip to Illinois had the following to say:

Ciesynski said he and McCullough shared a booth at a restaurant on the drive from O'Hare International Airport to Sycamore. Over a double cheeseburger and a glass of milk, McCullough spoke of how he only needed to convince one juror to create reasonable doubt, the detective said.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-mccullough-trial-0913-20120913,0,725409.story

And McCullough allegedly had last seen Maria in 1955, two years prior to her disappearance and murder.

McCullough strikes me as not truthful. He lives a few doors from the Ridulph home and doesn't see a neighbor child who plays outside often? BS.

Oh, and reasonable doubt doesn't mean anything in this case. It's a bench trial.
 
Wow, the jury acted quickly on that decision!

http://www.suntimes.com/15143191-76...lough-found-guilty-of-killing-7-year-old.html

Hope this brings some level of peace to the family members and leads to investigation of other crimes this man may have perpetrated against children and women.

Another article from NBC Chicago

http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/McCullough-Guilty-1957-Sycamore-Murder-169783286.html

ETA: Correction, it was a bench trial, so no jury was involved. That explains the quick verdict.
 
Former neighbor guilty of killing girl, 7, in 1957


Almost 55 years later, Justice for Maria! :woohoo:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...lling-girl-7-in-1957-20120914,0,2995426.story


Thank you, God!
Thank you, to all those who testified and came forward this many years later doing the right thing.

This should be a message to ALL murdering perps, just because time goes by doesn't mean you got away with it.


Now let's pray a conviction in a half century old case causes others to file charges and move towards conviction in other decades old cases. :please:


Sleep peacefully, Maria. The who did this to you will never hurt anyone again. Prayers said for Maria's family and friends.
 
My question is this-how many other girls did he kill? Where else has he lived in the US? Also, his half sister said he raped her? where is that mentioned in this thread?
 
He was acquitted of molesting/raping his half sister. I didn't add the info to this thread since this thread is set up for Maria's case. From memory, the judge that heard the molestation/rape case recused him or herself from the murder case and a Kane County judge overhead the murder case. He was acquitted of the charges in the rape/molestation case. Judge stated the prosecution did not meet their burden of proof.

There is some discussion on possible cases Johnny/Jack may be tied to a few pages back.

Hopefully now that he is a convicted murderer his DNA will go into CODIS and possibly tie him to some other unsolved crimes.
 
I wonder how many years this guy will serve now that he's been convicted at the age of 72. He also dodged what would have been a potential death penalty at the time.
 
This conviction sends such an inspiring message to families and friends of victims of cold case murders.
 
Like Betty above me said, this is inspiring.

It gives me a lot of hope for all these cases we see on here, where justice never seems to come quick enough for these innocents weeping from their graves.
 
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