A new hearing date has been set as attorneys currently working for Chester Weger try to have evidence in the Starved Rock murder case examined anew. Judge Michael C. Jansz will take it up on November 10th. The lawyers are trying to clear Weger’s name.
He was convicted of killing one of three women in St. Louis Canyon at Starved Rock State Park in 1960. The other two cases weren’t charged, but saved, in case Weger won the first one.
On parole since earlier this year and living in Chicago, Weger’s lawyers now want to see if DNA evidence can help him and they’re hoping there’s still other evidence lingering out there. There’s a challenge prosecutors and a defense attorney who worked for Weger in 2004 believed to be insurmountable. Evidence wasn’t preserved in 1960 to today’s requirements for DNA analysis. And so many people have handled the evidence in the decades since Weger’s conviction, it would be hard to prove which DNA found in Weger’s jacket, the women’s dresses, and other items came from the killer.