In 1957, a 7-year-old girl named Maria Ridulph was kidnapped from her neighborhood in Sycamore, Ill. and later found murdered. No one was convicted of the crime until 55 years later when new evidence, some of it hearsay, was brought into a courtroom before a judge. An investigation into “the nation’s oldest cold case to go to trial”:
“Janet’s father, Ralph, had long discouraged her from dredging up the past. But after he died, she decided to try the police one last time.
“She found a tip line on the Illinois State Police website and typed this e-mail:
“‘Sycamore, Illinois. December 1957. A seven-year-old child named Maria Ridulph vanished. Her remains were found in another county several miles away in early spring of 1958. I still believe that John Samuel Tessier from Sycamore, IL — AKA Jack Daniel McCullough — was and is responsible for her death. He is living in the Seattle/Tacoma Washington area under the name Jack Daniel McCullough.
“‘I’ve given information to the person responsible for the cold case in Sycamore. I’ve done this a few times. Nothing is ever done.
“‘This is the last time I mention this to anyone. What information I do have makes Tessier /McCullough a viable suspect, and worth looking into. I’m not going to keep doing this over and over. It’s exhausting and it dredges up painful, horrible memories.’
“At 1:04 p.m. on September 11, 2008, she hit ‘send.’”
