Chester Weger: Illinois: Starved Rock State Park murders; Bulletin: Closing arguments in his "Mini Trial" are set for this afternoon (Wednesday May 28), WLPO reports, noting that: The 86-year-old's lead Attorney Andy Hale has led a charge to have Weger's 1961 murder conviction vacated, presenting what he says is new evidence pointing to others in the deaths of three women at Starved Rock State Park in 1960. During the recent “mini trial”, Weger's defense team called a handful of witnesses who claimed to be told by friends and family that Weger was innocent. The ultimate goal is to have Weger's murder conviction vacated."

BACKGROUND: From a previous post (May 18) of this Blog:  "Chester Wager: Illinois: The Starved Rock murders: Starve Rock Media reports that testimony has wrapped up in a mini-trial evidentiary hearing described as featuring "three days of highly scientific testimony to go along with plenty of hearsay," in which, "The 86-year-old is trying to get his murder conviction overturned, with his defense offering what they say is new evidence that if presented to a jury now, would lead to a not guilty verdict."…"Colby Lasyone, chief of staff at Othram, Inc. says his Texas-based lab looked for a DNA profile on a hair found on the glove of Starved Rock murder victim Frances Murphy. His lab’s conclusion was that the hair was most likely linked to brothers Leo, Charles, and Edward Bray of Utica. To further their conclusion, the lab suggested exhuming the bodies of the brothers. That never happened."

https://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2025/05/chester-wager-illinois-starved-rock.html

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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Weger's been out of prison since 2020 when he was paroled after serving nearly 60 years for murdering a woman at Starved Rock. He confessed but later recanted and has claimed innocence. Weger hasn't been in court since it was announced he had moved from La Salle to Missouri."

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STORY: Closing Arguments In Chester Weger "Mini Trial" Set For Wednesday Afternoon," published by WLPO, on May 27, 2025.

GIST: "Closing arguments are set for Wednesday afternoon in the “mini trial” of Chester Weger.

The 86-year-old's lead Attorney Andy Hale has led a charge to have Weger's 1961 murder conviction vacated, presenting what he says is new evidence pointing to others in the deaths of three women at Starved Rock State Park in 1960. During the recent “mini trial”, Weger's defense team called a handful of witnesses who claimed to be told by friends and family that Weger was innocent. The ultimate goal is to have Weger's murder conviction vacated.

Lawyers from the Will County State's Attorney's Office have acted as special prosecutors during the Weger “mini trial”. They think the murder conviction should stand, saying the supposed new evidence wouldn't be admissible in a new trial.

Weger's been out of prison since 2020 when he was paroled after serving nearly 60 years for murdering a woman at Starved Rock. He confessed but later recanted and has claimed innocence. Weger hasn't been in court since it was announced he had moved from La Salle to Missouri.

Closing arguments are set to begin in Ottawa Wednesday at 2 o'clock. 103.9 WLPO will be there and providing updates on the station's Facebook and X accounts."

The entire story cannot be be read at:

https://www.starvedrock.media/wlpo/closing-arguments-in-chester-weger-mini-trial-set-for-wednesday-afternoon/article_b26fdef6-db13-45fa-b3f5-b483d566db40.html

PUBLISHER'S NOTE:  I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic"  section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com.  Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.

SEE BREAKDOWN OF  SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG,  AT THE LINK BELOW:  HL:

https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985

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FINAL WORD:  (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases):  "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."

Lawyer Radha Natarajan:

Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;

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FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions.   They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!

Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;

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