As far as true crime documentaries go, Murders at Starved Rock, is compelling. At face value, it has all of the ingredients you could want, including a community-shattering, innocence-destroying gruesome triple murder. One that it seems was solved. The killer was apprehended, charged, and convicted, but did the right man spend nearly 60 years in prison for the crime? If so, did he earn the parole he was granted in 2019, or should he have stayed locked up?
Even more interesting, the narrator, David Raccuglia, is the son of Anthony Raccuglia, the prosecutor who put Chester Weger, the man convicted of the murders, behind bars in 1961.
David Raccuglia was a kid at the time. The Starved Rock murders case was a high-profile one for his dad. Frances Murphy (47), Mildred Lindquist (50), and Lillian Oetting (50) had been bludgeoned to death while hiking Starved Rock State Park in March 1960. Anthony Raccuglia was positive Weger had done it. Every time Weger came up for parole, Raccuglia was there to argue how evil he was and why he should remain behind bars.
To David Raccuglia, Weger was the Boogeyman. He grew up fearing if Weger ever got out of jail, he’d kill his whole family.
The case left quite an impression on him, one that haunted him his entire life. He set about making a documentary about it, one where he extensively interviewed not only his dad but also his personal boogeyman, Weger. A lot of that footage is included in the documentary.
So are interviews with relatives of the women who were killed. They believe Weger was the killer and they weren’t happy when he won parole.
But was Weger the actual killer?
Amazingly, DNA might reveal the answer. Evidence from the crimes still remained and was sent off for testing.
The problem is, no answers came in before the documentary was released. So ultimately the Murders at Starved Rock, while engrossing, was unsatisfying.
Decider summed it up best by stating “as whodunnit, it doesn’t quite work,” but it does have some redeeming qualities and is stream-worthy.
At least if you’re not the tidy type and don’t mind loose ends.
I’m not sure it would justify a season 2 or a sequel, but I do hope they at least provide an update of some sort when they learn if the blood implicates Weger or clears him. Because now I just have to know!
Murders at Starved Rock Description
From HBO:
This three-part documentary series explores the brutal murders of three women in 1960 in Starved Rock State Park in LaSalle County, Illinois, and the decades of questions and doubts that have haunted the son of the prosecutor in the case, as the man found guilty seeks to clear his name after 60 years in prison.
Murders at Starved Rock Trailer
Check-In
Do you think that, unless evidence comes forward later to clear them, convicted murderers should never be granted parole, no matter how old they are or how much time they’ve served?
Courtney Mroch is a globe-trotting restless spirit who’s both possessed by wanderlust and the spirit of adventure, and obsessed with true crime, horror, the paranormal, and weird days. Perhaps it has something to do with her genes? She is related to occult royalty, after all. Marie Laveau, the famous Voodoo practitioner of New Orleans, is one of her ancestors. (Yes, really! As explained here.) That could also explain her infatuation with skeletons.
Speaking of mystical, to learn how Courtney channeled her battle with cancer to conjure up this site, check out HJ’s Origin Story.
Loading ...
Argh, how frustrating. Yes, we need an update from the Murders at Starved Rock producers. As to your question, that’s a tough one. On the one hand, we want to be a compassionate society. On the other hand, I can see how the system could be played with wealthy celebrities hitting 40 years served and getting out while poor folk having to stay for 60 years simply because there is no where for them to go.
Let’s just say there was a lot of cussing on my part at the end. My husband felt the whole series was too drawn out and could’ve been condensed into one 2 hour doc…and he called there would be no findings in the DNA at the start of ep 3. He wants me to put that on the record. I poo pooed him. Of course they’d have a resolution! Nope! lol And I feel the exact same way as you. It’s really complicated, isn’t it?