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Homicide

Illinois prosecutor: Man couldn't have slain girl in 1957

Associated Press
Published | Updated
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    FILE - In this July 2, 2011 file photo, the grave site of 7-year-old Maria Ridulph is seen at Elmwood Cemetery in Sycamore, Ill. On Friday, March 25, 2016, DeKalb County State's Attorney Richard Schmack says his review of evidence has convinced him that Jack McCullough, the man convicted in 2012 in the 1957 killing of a Ridulph, could not have committed the crime. His six-month court-ordered review was prompted by McCullough's push for a new trial. (AP Photo/Barbara Rodriguez, File) (The Associated Press)

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    DeKalb County State's Attorney Richard Schmack looks through pages of documents included as exhibits to support his vacating the conviction response to Jack McCullough's post conviction filings in his conference room at the DeKalb County Courthouse in Sycamore, Ill., Friday, March 25, 2016. Jack D. McCullough was convicted of the 1957 murder of 7-year-old Maria Ridulph in September of 2012. McCullough will appear in court on Tuesday, March 29.  (Danielle Guerra/Daily Chronicle via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT; CHICAGO TRIBUNE OUT (The Associated Press)

CHICAGO – An Illinois prosecutor says he's convinced that a man convicted in the 1957 killing of a 7-year-old girl couldn't have committed the crime.

DeKalb County State's Attorney Richard Schmack announced the findings Friday after reviewing evidence in the case of Jack McCullough. The court-ordered, six-month review was prompted by McCullough's push for a new trial.

The girl, Maria Ridulph, vanished from the small community of Sycamore on Dec. 3, 1957, and her body was found several months later. The slaying remained a mystery for decades.

McCullough, a neighbor at the time of the slaying, had long ago been cleared by authorities. But he was charged in 2011 during a renewed effort to solve the case. He was found guilty in 2012.

But Schmack says new evidence firms up an alibi.

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