IL IL - Roberta Rinearson, 10, Brookfield, 17 Dec 1948

[Richard]

Bumping Roberta's case up. It has been over 66 years since her murder. It is still unsolved.

 

[stereot]

An interesting link from Chicago Tribune related to this case:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/photo/vintage/chi-rinearson02-20130404-photo.html

 

[Richard]

Link to lots of b&w news photos of the Roberta Rinearson case:

http://galleries.apps.chicagotribun...arson-george-lettrich-pictures/#chi-rinearson

Might have to put the above in your browser.

 

[Richard]

December 2018 will mark the 70 year anniversary of Roberta's murder.

 

[Richard]

Here is an interesting link to an in-depth look at George Letterich, Jr. and his overturned conviction.

George Lettrich - National Registry of Exonerations Pre 1989

 

[PinkPrincessPoop]

I really don't think George did it. We may never know, but MOO he wasn't guilty.

 

[Richard]

I really don't think George did it. We may never know, but MOO he wasn't guilty.

True, he probably did not commit the crime, but unfortunately when the police and prosecutors focussed on him, the trail of the real killer(s) went cold.

 

[Stella]

http://galleries.apps.chicagotribun...e-roberta-rinearson-george-lettrich-pictures/

IL - IL - John Navickas, Jr., 9, Chicago, 07 July 1948

I wonder if there is any connection?

 

[Richard]

http://galleries.apps.chicagotribun...e-roberta-rinearson-george-lettrich-pictures/

IL - IL - John Navickas, Jr., 9, Chicago, 07 July 1948

I wonder if there is any connection?

While it is certainly a possibility that the two cases might be connected, I do not see many similarities.

In the case of John Navickas, he is a missing person who has never been found. Also, he was from more of a downtown area. Also, it was a summer time disappearance. Possible suspects mentioned were young teenagers.

Roberta was abducted, sexually attacked, and murdered and her body dumped in a place where she was found relatively quickly. The abductor was probably someone who had a vehicle. She was killed in December of 1948.

Hopefully both of these crimes can still be solved.

 

[Richard]

Roberta Rinearson first communion photo

 

[Richard]

Police officer John A. Peters, left, and another man examine the body of Roberta Rinearson at the crime scene on Dec. 18, 1948. Authorities never found the brown loafer shoes Roberta had been wearing. — Chicago Tribune historical photo

LINK:

http://galleries.apps.chicagotribun...e-roberta-rinearson-george-lettrich-pictures/

 

[Richard]

71 years ago Roberta was murdered. Although one man was convicted and sentenced to death, his conviction was later overturned and today that murder remains unsolved.

 

[PayrollNerd]

Police officer John A. Peters, left, and another man examine the body of Roberta Rinearson at the crime scene on Dec. 18, 1948. Authorities never found the brown loafer shoes Roberta had been wearing. — Chicago Tribune historical photo

LINK:

http://galleries.apps.chicagotribun...e-roberta-rinearson-george-lettrich-pictures/

Brown loafer shoes could have been the perps trophy. Did any suspect have a daughter the same age?

 

[CPNYC]

That's an excellent point. Would you happen to know if shoes were taken in the Peterson-Schuessler case (as well as the Grimes sisters; I believe that all these murders were connected).

 

[PayrollNerd]

That's an excellent point. Would you happen to know if shoes were taken in the Peterson-Schuessler case (as well as the Grimes sisters; I believe that all these murders were connected).

I have no idea. I haven’t looked at the other cases you’ve referenced. Interesting thoughts tho. Shoes seem to be an odd trophy to me. I can’t think of any significance they would hold.

 

[Richard]

I have no idea. I haven’t looked at the other cases you’ve referenced. Interesting thoughts tho. Shoes seem to be an odd trophy to me. I can’t think of any significance they would hold.

Jerry Brudos was a shoe fetishist, serial killer, rapist, torturer, and necrophiliac who stalked women around Portland, Oregon in 1968 and 1969. He was known as both "The Lust Killer" and "The Shoe Fetish Killer".

He probably was to young to have been the killer of Roberta, but he is an example of how the missing shoes might be a clue in the case.

LINK:
Who Was the Shoe Fetish Slayer?

 

[Richard]

Roberta Rinearson, 10, Murdered 17 Dec 1948

 

[Richard]

A family photo of a young Roberta Rinearson, who was raped and murdered when she was 10-years-old on December 17, 1948. 'Bobby', as she was called by her family, was on the way to see a movie in La Grange, Ill. when she was abducted. — Chicago Tribune historical handout, April 4, 2013

Click on photo to enlarge.

LINK:
http://galleries.apps.chicagotribun...e-roberta-rinearson-george-lettrich-pictures/

 

[Richard]

73 Years Ago...


Roberta Rinearson, age 10
Murdered 17 December 1948

LINKS:

http://galleries.apps.chicagotribun...e-roberta-rinearson-george-lettrich-pictures/

Late-1940s Chicago CSI, in Photos

MURDER OF SCHOOLGIRL - National Advocate (Bathurst, NSW : 1889 - 1954) - 21 Dec 1948

People v. Lettrich

Exoneree, Center on Wrongful Convictions: Northwestern Pritzker School of Law

Who was the First Crime Scene Investigator ?

 

[Earth]

Does anybody think that William Henry Redmond might be responsible? He was suspected of killing numerous girls while he worked as a carnie, but was never convicted. He died in 1992.