The Starved Rock Murders with Andy Hale
EP 5: Andy's Case for Premeditation (and why the law student turned FBI agent on the case thought so too)
In the days following the murders law enforcement and the public seemed to gravitate towards the belief that only a depraved lunatic could have perpetrated such a heinous and depraved crime. Because who else but a madman would have reason to harm three lovely church-going ladies with no enemies? But did these women truly have no enemies? How much do we really know about the motive for the murders? When Chester Weger was ultimately charged with the murders his supposed motive was robbery, and yet curiously nothing was missing. Random robberies don't typically result in the complete and utter destruction of the faces of the victims and their bodies being dragged to a cave and displayed like macabre snow angels. In today's episode we explore the clues left behind at the crime scene that not only suggests that at least one of these women had an enemy and might have been targeted specifically, but also that many of the clues do indeed point to this being a premeditated crime. We also correct the notion that nothing was taken, because we do know that Frances Murphy’s fingertip is gone. Is that missing fingertip more evidence of premeditation? For more information, documents, photos, and other assets associated with and referenced in episode 5’s coverage of the case, visit andyhalepodcast.com.