Can Chester Weger get his conviction overturned? Experts weigh in at “Mini-Trial” Day 1

Chester Weger‘s “mini trial,” a term coined by his attorneys, began Monday morning with the defense calling experts they say can prove Weger was wrongfully convicted of the Starved Rock Murders.

Weger, 86, is trying to overturn his conviction for killing Lillian Oetting, one of three women fatally bludgeoned in 1960 at Starved Rock State Park. Weger confessed to the killings and later recanted. He has spent the past six decades advocating for new proceedings to prove his innocence.

Weger, who moved to Missouri earlier this year, did not appear in court during Monday’s proceedings.

Defense Attorney Andy Hale began his opening statement by discussing the hair discovered on Frances Murphy, which the lab had previously found to have a man’s DNA – not belonging to Weger – and outlining a list of witnesses he said would prove the Chicago mafia is responsible for the killings of the three women.

Colleen Griffin of the special prosecutor‘s office said the state didn’t want to speak about evidence because it’s so conclusive that it would ultimately be admissible by the defendant.

Regarding lay witnesses, Griffin said they are highly unlikely to be credible and inconsistent with one another.

Hale called the first of four witnesses, beginning with Christopher Palenik, a microscopist and vice president of Microtrace.

Palenik outlined the microscope slides he reviewed for the defense, focusing on a slide containing the hair taken from the left index finger of Murphy’s brown wool gloves.

Hale outlined each slide with Palenik by walking through their condition and chain of custody.

Mark Shliafk, of the special prosecutor‘s office, began his cross-examination by challenging the chain of custody. Shliafk asked Palenik if he knew where the hair was from March 16 to April 7, 1960. Palenik said he couldn’t.

Shliafk further challenged Palenik, questioning whether the slides were altered and saying he chose to write “the benefit of the doubt should go to the defendant” in his reports because the prosecution had made the evidence available to high school students in the 1970s and 80s.

“If all the Cub Scouts in Illinois viewed the evidence, would it change your response?” Hale asked.

“No,” Palenik replied. He continued by explaining that the hair typically is washed, and any touch DNA evidence would be removed.

After breaking for lunch, Hale moved on to Najai Bradley, a forensic biologist with Bode Technology. Bradley testified to testing the hair found on Murphy’s glove, saying the hair was in the antigen growth phase, meaning it’s actively growing, the hair was brown and straight.

Keeley Coleman, a forensic DNA analyst, testified that she completed the analysis of the hair, stating her findings were that the DNA was a male but was not a match for Weger.

During both examinations, Shliafk said that four cigarette butts, a string and 43 other hairs, were sent for analysis. None of those were able to provide DNA.

“Out of 44 hairs taken from the scene, “ he said, “only 14 were processed … and only one hair belonged to Chester Weger.”

Dr. David Richard Fowler, a forensic pathologist, reviewed each woman’s autopsy and testified to the force needed to cause the substantial injuries on the women.

Hale asked if he believed the injuries could be caused by a camera or binoculars.

“I would say no,” Fowler said. He also said the log found at the scene was “soft and spongy,” and in his opinion, he would have expected some of the log to be embedded in the woman’s injury.

During cross-examination, Shliafk challenged Fowler by saying human tissue was found in the binoculars and he had a predetermined opinion regarding the log, as it was frozen at the time of the murder and Fowler didn’t fully review all the documentation.

Fowler said he came to his conclusions based on 40 years of experience and maintained a camera or binoculars, while they could cause damage, could not cause the level of force required to kill three women.

Weger‘s mini-trial will continue at 10 a.m. Tuesday.