55 YEARS AFTER THE CRIME, ILLINOIS MAN IS CONVICTED FOR THE MURDER OF A 7-YEAR-OLD GIRL, BUT 3 YEARS LATER, PHONE RECORDS SHOW HE WAS 35 MILES AWAY AT THE TIME OF THE CRIME

In 2012, Jack McCullough was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for the 1957 murder and rape of seven-year-old Maria Ridulph, but telephone records now corroborate his alibi that he was not anywhere nearby when the girl was abducted

This is a strange case from DeKalb County, Illinois.

Seven-year-old Maria Ridulph was abducted, raped and stabbed to death in Sycamore in 1957. The case lingered as a cold case until 2012 when Jack McCullough, a security guard, was arrested, tried convicted of the crimes and sentenced to life in prison. McCullough had been a neighbor of the slain girl.

During the trial McCullough claimed he was in Rockford at the time of the killing. Rockford is about 35 miles from Sycamore.

Now, after researching the evidence for the past six months, prosecutor Richard Schnack has concluded McCullough is innocent. A search of phone records showed that he did make a call from Rockford at about the time of Maria’s abduction, thus confirming his alibi. Furthermore, Schmack discovered that in interviewing a witness to the abduction, investigators used a discredited photo-lineup technique that has since been outlawed.

His public defender intends to file a motion before a DeKalb County court on Tuesday seeking dismissal of the charges against McCullough.

However, Maria’s brother thinks Schmack is a schmuck. Charles Ridulph filed a motion in court Monday. In his motion he requested that a special prosecutor be appointed to uphold McCullough’s conviction.