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Maria Ridulph Murder Case

Maria Ridulph Murder Case

An Illinois prosecutor says he has found "Clear and convincing evidence" that a former police officer was wrongly convicted of the 1957 murder of a 7-year-old girl in what is believed to have been the nation's oldest cold case to go to trial.

Jack Daniel McCullough, a 75-year-old military veteran and former police officer from Seattle, was convicted in 2012 of the abduction and murder of Maria Ridulph from a street corner in Sycamore, Illinois.

A court hearing is scheduled for Tuesday. Ref. CNN

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Case Murder Ridulph Maria

An Illinois judge on Friday overturned the murder conviction of Jack McCullough in the 1957 death of 7-year-old Maria Ridulph, and has ordered a new trial.

McCullough, 75, is expected to be released later Friday, according to the judge.

He was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison in 2012. The case is believed to have been the oldest cold case in the nation to go to trial. Ref. CNN.

Maria Ridulph Murder Case History & Civil Business Politics

Charges have been dismissed against the man who spent nearly five years behind bars for the 1957 murder of a little girl in Sycamore, Illinois.

But Jack McCullough still faces the possibility that some day a prosecutor could bring murder charges against him again in one of the nation's oldest cold cases.

McCullough, 76, has been free since his murder conviction was thrown out a week ago.

Among the evidence the prosecutor reviewed was CNN's 2012 series on the case, "Taken," which examined McCullough's murder trial and raised questions about whether it was fair. Ref. CNN.

Case Murder Ridulph Maria

A special prosecutor has been appointed to look into whether police and prosecutors in a small Illinois town engaged in misconduct to win a false conviction in one of the nation's coldest murder cases.

An order signed by Robbin Stuckert, the chief judge in DeKalb County, Illinois, appoints the State's Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor to look into whether Seattle Detective Irene Lau committed perjury when she testified during the 2012 murder trial of Jack Daniel McCullough.

Questions also have surfaced over whether police and prosecutors deliberately concealed a 78-minute videotape that contradicted Lau’s version of what McCullough said under questioning.

McCullough was convicted in September 2012 of the 1957 abduction and murder of Maria Ridulph. At the time, his conviction was touted as closing the oldest cold case ever tried, a feat that was explored in CNN's multi-part series "Taken." The series raised questions about the fairness of the trial and conviction.

Others had doubts as well. McCullough was released from prison nearly a year ago after a judge threw out the conviction. Judge William Brady agreed with a new prosecutor's conclusion that it would have been impossible for McCullough to have committed the crime, as he was 40 miles away at the time Maria was kidnapped by a stranger who called himself "Johnny." Ref. CNN.

Case Murder Ridulph Maria

I am one that hopes that the Seattle Detective who lied under oath is convicted of purgery. To think you have to lie to get a conviction is wrong. If the case does not hold water by telling the truth no case should be brought before a grand jury or even go to trial. I am glad that Jack is out and free.

Maria Ridulph Murder Case

The man who was wrongfully convicted in a 1957 cold case murder has sued police and prosecutors 2 days after clearing his name. Ref. CNN.